In the Midst of Winter

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back. –Albert Camus, The Stranger

1
These are the dark
days of winter,
darker than usual.
A veritable trough,
a kind of hole
in the collective life

not reckoned for
among the things
we thought
would happen.

I was a motivated
observer of the scene—
watcher of MSNBC,
follower of a few Op-Ed pages,
clicker of Breaking News updates.
Ever watchful for
“news of the universe”:

anything to break
the grim clinch
of ideologies
in my country
and the world.

I am a declared
enemy of duality,
but as long as it persists,
a chooser of the side
which seems to promote
unity and inclusiveness..

I would click and find
now a victory,
now a loss
for what I saw
as that cause.

Even the smallest movement
in the farthest
corner of the world,
(as long as I
trusted the source)
one which could
modestly improve
life somewhere
improved my own,
if we are indeed
all one.

2
For now, at least, it appears
the tension is gone.
The game is over.
The two sides,
no longer really clenched
as before.

The side I dreaded
has won.

3
There are no vast
demonstrations in the streets.
No unified cry, really,
no orchestrated
collective response.

In this time
before the light returns
many of us, it seems,
have out of instinct
gone deep
into our own burrow,
to find the strength
to face the future.

The defeat this winter
has not left
enough surplus energy
to hold out
a helping hand
in every direction,
as many previously did.

We have not scattered,
not really,
but have retreated
to the Source
in preparation for
what is to come.

The Light we find
will gather
for its return to
the collective sphere.

Let us prepare.
Let us trust.

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