Tacenda

Resilience

The sunlight burned into the concrete

A gray desert, barren and harsh

The air held its breath

Its throat too dry to cough wind

The soles of my feet recoiled from the temperature

Hopping from one foot to the other

Skidding over heat and cement combined in a marriage of desolation

When suddenly within blended gravel and sand

A crack

Long and thin

Extending like a winding river

As if even the ground couldn’t stand the summer heat

And snapped under its weight

Following the line with my toe

I stopped in my tracks at the sight

Of hope shone green

With a stem no wider than my pencil tip

And leaves open wide

Like arms awaiting the sun’s embrace

I know exactly where it is because I am there too

Small and weak and trembling

But there is strength in its ignorant courage

Beauty from adversity

Resilience

I sat down on the concrete

The hot cement scorching my thighs

But the plant was worth honoring

I admired its stupidity

Its audacity to think it could make it in such conditions

We are all the same in this

Our naivety to try for the impossible

To ignorantly trust in our individuality

But without this foolish tendency, where would we be?

Even the greatest oak began its journey as a seedling

There is no shame in trying too hard

No shame in believing too passionately

When stranded in seas of gray

We can all become a glimpse of green in the distance

A spot of salvation emerging from the horizon