Day 23 of the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon. The prompt today was to write an abecedarian poem, working through the alphabet a-z with each line’s first word. I found it a challenge and the poem didn’t come out quite how I wanted — do they ever? — but here it is.
All the Troubles and Yet
All the troubles everywhere, yet a
Baby brings joy, each new
Child in my circle a welcome
Discovery that the world goes on
Each one accepted as the
Finest example of what the universe offers
Greeted with adoration and wonder
Heralded with hope
Imagine receiving that level of tenderness
Just for being, freely given
Love with no expectations
Meaning found simply in connection
No earning it or losing it
Only a thereness
Produced because it’s how we survive
Quarrels most certainly will arrive
Right along with disappointments
Suffering and sickness
There’ll be time to think on those
Upsets later, rather than wasting the
Velvet days of infancy with our minds
X number of years in the future
Youth speeds away but comes
Zipping back to humanity again and again
~~