On this July 4th I find it more difficult than usual to get into the celebratory spirit—and this has nothing to do with politics! I find myself navigating a challenging COVID infection and after some days am only this morning seeing the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Seeing something hopeful in the distant future can be a distraction from current troubles, or it can empower one to keep working for the better days ahead. If you stop looking ahead with hope, the work can become impossible.
Over the years I’ve posted a variety of quotations on Independence Day. This Lucille Clifton poem, blake, is not about independence but it is about finding some glimmer of hope as we scan the world around us.
we need new words
for what this is, this hunger entering our
loneliness like birds, stunning our eyes into rays
of hope. we need the flutter that can save
us, something that will swirl across the face
of what we have become and bring us grace.
Happy 4th of July!
And why not “won’t you celebrate with me?”