It’s been a weird week. Our president threatened an apocalypse. I mostly don’t know what day it is. Some yoga classes have been full to bursting, others totally empty. We’ve had snow and also t-shirt weather. I think we’re all a little bit lost.
Here where I live, even without the political chaos, this time of year is a liminal space. Mud season. Or as I’ve heard it described, winterspring. It is after winter, but before spring. It is brown. It is confusing.
I try to tether myself by looking for the tiny evidence of change: the first snowdrops, the first crocuses, the day the front snow pile melts, the day the maple buds seem to pop. Right now, we are between the late crocuses and the early daffodils.
I recently noted that basically all my poems are about the weather. I didn’t think this one was. How silly of me.
Collecting Change
No one picks up pennies anymore. Once lucky, now no use bending for a piece of change as imperceptible as the curvature of the earth. Oh that I might notice slim shifts like I notice new cracks in the drywall, thinning sock soles, when sarcasm has gone sour. Count them now: one absence of eggshells, two bids accepted, three more minutes of daylight. A quarter has fallen behind the couch– I move the couch, remember that negative acceleration is still forward movement. Still adds up. When metal plinks against metal I’m drawn to plunge my hand into the coin jar–I want to feel its cold, dusty weight– sift its worth through my fingers
Credit for this prompt goes to Donna from my writing group. It’s a simple yet profound one.
Think of a person in your life who is struggling, or has struggled in the past. This can be in any realm of life: physical, mental, social, spiritual, etc.
Next time you talk to them, ask them this question: How will I know if you’re not okay?
Our goal is not to pathologize, or judge, or solve the problem right now. But this question might help them zoom out, look at themselves from the outside, and make note of how their internal challenges tend to manifest in the world.
Have a conversation. Write down the signs if you need to. Reassure this person that you’ll be there for them.
Consider doing this exercise for yourself—asking the question in reverse: how will the people in my life know if I’m not okay?
With life, light, and love,
Devon
Fantastic poem. Thank you
It is spring here today! Our lawn will need to be mowed soon!