That was the year we were bulbs
tucked deeply in the dark earth, waiting.
Only some of us could not wait.
Some were deemed essential
to keep the world running,
to keep the rest of us safe
as we sheltered in place.
Those in healthcare, childcare,
agriculture, emergency management,
sanitation, mass transit,
postal service, and other critical
infrastructure operations—
you were our guardian angels.
Of course we wanted to push
through the hard ground that spring
along with the crocus and daffodils
under cherry blossoms’ pink shade.
But, for the good of the whole,
we had to wait, so we did.
Looking back, it feels like we skipped
over that spring and summer,
the healing scent of lilac
eluding us.
O how we missed one another!
Even the introverts longed for
the social proximity of friends—
a hard-to-replicate communion,
we learned, though we tried.
Seeking connection, we created new ways
of being together.
Seeking connection, we used technology
to deepen friendships, to co-create music,
to worship together across oceans.
Seeking connection, we perfected the art
of expressing love without physical touch.
Seeking connection, we used our ingenuity and
resourcefulness to cultivate communities of care.
Like dandelions coming up through
cracks in the pavement, we were persistent.
We were resilient and strong while,
at the same time, parts of us softened.
The pandemic taught us to be agile,
to give grace.
Now when we blow dried dandelions,
our wishes are remembrances
of those we have lost. We watch
the wispy florets parachute on the wind
and careen toward the ground—
seeds, never forgotten, taking root
in the tender domain of our hearts.
If kindness is a kind of rest
then tenderness is medicine.
If kindness is a holding
that makes release possible,
then tenderness is an invitation
to unfurl our stories and be heard.
Let us be this medicine for each other.
Let us be the helpers and healers
our world still needs today
as we process our unfolding grief.
We will be called the repairers.
We will be remembered as the midwives
who welcomed a new consciousness,
a new unity.
The earth that has catalogued our tears
will now assemble our joys.
Through the soil that safely hid us,
we now shoot up! Unapologetically,
and in all the colors of the rainbow,
we bloom.
