a blessing for your courage
A blessing
For your courage
As the adrenaline subsides
And you’re left alone
With the stillness,
silence,
and lack of certainty
A blessing
For the courage
To parent and practice patience
As your children ask questions
For which you can’t find the answers
A blessing
for your courage
to be strong
for those who look to you
to guide them
A blessing
For your tears
And the courage to reach out
Ask for help
To share your fears
With another
Who perhaps
Before the time of distancing
And solitude
You weren’t as close
As you’re becoming now
A blessing
For your courage
shown in generosity
Of energy
Sending supportive cards
And love
To those needing so much more connection
In lockdown and distance
A blessing
for your courage
creating community
across distances
in new platforms
sharing a part of yourself
with others so they might feel less alone
A blessing
For your courage
To start something new
To allow an old you
To become ash
And rise again
A blessing
For your courage
To reinvent yourself
A blessing
For your courage
As you lose
What you planned to always have
As you step forward
With all the grief
And heartbreak
Of living without
A blessing
For your courage
To rise and rise again
To the fight in this day
To the work of right now
To the next right step
To the hoped-for end-of-tunnel light
A blessing
For your courage
Working overtime
In overdrive
So that the rest of us
Might have health
And sustainability
In this time
And what comes after
A blessing
For your courage
To hold in tension
The both/and
The shared space
The love and irritation of being locked down at home together
A blessing
For your courage
To face the unknown
To stay home
And resist the urge
To risk
The health of each other
A blessing
For your courage
To keep researching and scheming
Seeing if you can
keep open
The doors of your small business
And the livelihoods of your people
A blessing
For your courage
To get up from the scrolling
And step outside
To root down in your breathing
And return to all of your senses
A blessing
For your courage
As grief and fear and anxiety fill you
With no clear direction
But a whisper,
An invitation:
A blessing
For the courage
To be present
To all that lies within
These days.
