How can we make sense of yet another horrific act of senseless violence? Yesterday’s events in France have me in a state of despair. The light-hearted poem I had planned to share today now seems inappropriate. What to share instead?
As I walked my dog this morning, I was hyperaware of my surroundings, noticing traces of spider webs, ripening blackberries, and the cacophony of bird songs. Noticing the beauty of the world right in front of me. Somehow all this noticing reminded of me of this poem, which I wrote several years ago.
The Sand Beneath Our Feet
Sometimes in our busy lives,
we brush others aside
as carelessly as we brush
the sand off our feet
after a day at the beach.
But what if we stopped,
took a moment
for a closer look?
What wonders might be revealed to us?
The geologist, turning
her microscope to those few
grains of sand,
is rewarded with
an astonishing menagerie:
crystal jacks,
ivory sea urchins,
golden honeycombs,
swirls of pink cotton candy,
amber snails, spiraling ever inward.
Shaped by forces beyond our ken,
each one as different from the other
as you and I.
What pressures shaped you?
What winds and rains have buffeted you about?
What marvels have been forged
in the depths of your heart?
© Catherine Flynn, 2016
Please be sure to visit Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
This is a perfect poem for today. If we could really see each other, I think we’d love more and have deeper compassion.
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Beautiful questions in that final stanza. Thank you for reminding what to consider, Catherine!
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I too am in despair. I can’t help but wonder what could make someone hate so much that they would want to kill so many people they didn’t even know? I pray for the families torn apart by this senseless violence.
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Lovely and heart provoking. Thank you.
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Beautiful poem and thoughts during this confusing and difficult time. Our worlds move too quickly for careful considering it seems – most of the time. Having time off and away gives a different perspective. So do your words. ❤️
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To see the marvels in each other. Or to even recognize that we all have wondrous things within. That would be a marvel. Maybe, when the world seems too cruel it is calling us to pay attention to those grains of sand.
Thank you for you beautiful words. They are a call to action.
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Yes, a deeper look can reveal surprises that can leave us astonished. Thanks for the poem, Catherine. FLYNN POWER!
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