As I put on my best outfit
And pour bubbly in my glass,
I think back with grace
And I must admit
Of the complexities brought en masse.
“Here’s to 2020, a ghastly time”
A year some say barreled towards us
At a momentous pace
With neither reason nor rhyme.
But some who know injustice
Have felt its sting, bite, and claw,
Heard “your ways aren’t right with our world.”
Have known the systems in place
“For there is not one, but two law”
“The beasts of power, submit, or your life unfurled.”
I return to the kitchen, pour my glass down the sink.
Say goodbye to friends on Zoom, pour some tea, and think.
An overdose of empathy for the world felt down to my blood, iron and zinc.
Black and brown bodies undertreated, vax deniers, and now COVID in mink?
I pause and slow down
Breathe, push, smile, frown
Love through joy, grief, anger, pain
This, we can embrace