For Amanda, with Gratitude

You stood yourself a beam of light

fallen from heaven’s hallowed height,

a flash of fire swirled 

round your head—

a cosmic beam of blazing red,

but no, I am of earth you said, 

of fielded earth,

where arched backs aching,

and sweated arms, bent and 

breaking,

my ancestors prayed for a world

more fair,

and dared to dream 

that I’d be there.

And so you stood above the tears,

and asked us each to brave 

our fears,

to sweep away the shards and pain

and find the path to hope again.

You are the path. You are the prayer.

You are the light we each must bear

and bring 

to broken hearts  

and minds despaired, misled,

and left enraged—

for love alone can turn the page.

Thank you Amanda, for awakening my tired spirit, for reminding me of the power of words, 

the beauty of hope and the grace of truth.