I grieve for lives lost because of others’ greed.
I grieve for dreams crushed and opportunities denied 
because of prejudices and abuses of power.
I grieve for hope dying, for hope lost.

I celebrate silly memes whose sole purpose 
is to express creativity and humor and joy in life; 
proof of the indomitable vein of humaneness within us. 
I celebrate sober acts of love, good will, humility, 
generosity and bravery of everyday people 
coming together to support, care for and 
protect one another. 

I challenge myself to not look away, to not try to
distance myself from the brutality, the 
callous disregard of suffering, the shortsighted 
squandering of natural resources that are the 
very foundation of life on earth. 
I challenge myself to right the wrongs.

I pray for wisdom.
I pray for sanity.

It’s National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo)!

Day Ten prompt from NaPoWriMo.net calls for “a meditation on grief.” I didn’t entirely meet the criteria of the prompt, but I’m still on track for a poem a day in April.