Written after the U.S. Election, November 2016

In the sea of [essential] response to this week’s election, I find myself feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material. What I have come to realize is that a commitment to my own equanimity and ground is paramount, lest I eventually succumb to a build-up that sneaks up on me, unawares.

That said, I have found a place of solace once again in the one thing that never fails to soothe and assist me as I converse with my humanity:

Poetry.

Sitting with this piece for the last couple of days, I have come to realize that it is about so much more than the election. It is indeed about my humanity, my experience of moving through difficult times and the inevitable cracks that show up inside of me as well as around me. This piece is helping me to come to grips [once again] with my own perfectly-flawed nature as well as the reality of our country’s current landscape.

_

There is always a crack.

To the naked eye,
there may seem to be nothing.
A microscopic fault line
never meant to awaken,
the potential to disrupt
known only to itself.

Other times, the crack
shows itself boldly,
a jagged gash of uncertain end
disturbing an otherwise
placid landscape,
here to grab our attention,
ask us, plead with us to see
what has become broken,
shouting in the form of a
craggy, untamed gesture.

Yes certainly
pain and anguish
will often burrow into
the marrow of our bones
when we witness anything that
cleaves a path through
our idea of what is right,
all that previously felt perfect,
or at least mostly comfortable.

But we must also consider
the beauty in the breach.

The rightly-placed fissure
that tears open to bellow
a exceptional cry of supplication,
beckons us to dive in head first,
get to the bottom of this
curious, agitating landmark
rather than stand around,
pointing in gestures of disbelief
as it steadily progresses onward.

Rarely will you be alone
when you make such a
bold move toward
righting what feels wrong,
seeking the source point
of this brazen messenger –
for there are many of us,
thousands and millions of us
striving to understand
the origin of such a thing,
what could possibly have engendered
such force as to create this
undeniable symbol of division,
the unsettling feeling that
the earth is about to give way
right beneath our feet.

It is up to us to step closer, peer into
the wide rupture before us,
consider what we can do
to stitch together the gap,
patch this crack that has
triggered our feral nature,
left us feeling exposed and vulnerable –

until we again feel whole,
reconnected to our humanity,
all while bearing a battle scar
that reminds us
what we are capable of.

©2016 Kimberly Jonas