Some things you can’t turn off

Sunsets are everything
glorious about this planet
contained in a few golden seconds

From vantage points
people gather to watch them
waiting for that perfect moment
when chatter is silenced
when a miracle is witnessed
when hope is collectively present

Finding peace, solace, and reflection
a few golden seconds, fleeting

My attention, I’d rather give them
than the constant stream of sadness
pouring from the television
becoming a dusty relic in the corner

Another young life
violently taken
in the valley below

I bear witness
to the loss of another golden glow
from an elevated point

I was told to always keep
my classroom doors locked
as a form of protection
against a loaded gun

My best friend’s brother
was shot cold
left to die in the stall
of a car wash

One of my former students
met the same fate last year
in a neighborhood

Pages I could fill
of senseless scenarios

I don’t know
how to fix
all the broken things
in this valley
in this world
in countless hearts and homes

So, I turn my attention toward the sun
breathing in its golden glow
washing over the valley below

Click here for Ingrid Michaelson’s song, Keep Breathing, if the music video does not load. A note about the lyrics: This song has gifted me with peace recently and for that I am grateful. I do believe we, collectively, can do more (than just breathe) to bring peace.

Not exactly a post for the Office of Tourism, but these are my thoughts this morning after watching the local news recently (for a total of two minutes, if that) and learning the details of an innocent young man, brutally murdered. Another. I don’t have any answers for the violence that occurs locally or globally. Not sure anyone does. I can only share peace and beauty when I find it, in hopes that it makes a difference. Thank you for visiting. Michele

my nature photos / photo of me by Larissa

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