Poem: My Children Will Always Be Strangers

digital illustration by S. King, based on a photo by Rene Bernal

My children will always be strangers.
The defining events of their lives,
The bright flags on their timelines;
I saw these as a jaded adult
With decades of perspective
To temper my understanding.
I cannot fathom the imprint
These days leave on young minds.
Whatever shaped me long ago,
The circumstances of my youth,
Are gone or changed forever.
When, someday, I am asked
To answer for the choices made today,
I doubt any reasons will suffice
To those who still remember all
With the stark intensity of childhood.
Each generation has to ask forgiveness
From all the ones who follow.

Revisiting Resolution No. 6

The rhetoric around the Interwebs is getting heated. Some days, the quantity of vitriol pouring out of my screen makes me despair. How can the world contain so much hate, fear, and anger?

This question has been weighing on my mind. But the thing is, I knew at the beginning of the year that it would be like this. That's why, in my list of New Year's Resolutions, number six states that I resolve "To face the hate and anger in the world with love and prayer. To love my neighbor and trust in God and pray for mercy and love with compassion toward all."

Many people have pointed out that Facebook is part of the problem. But I think that it's also part of the solution.



Yes, Facebook is where a lot of heated opinions get aired. But behind every one of those angry memes and cartoons and petitions is a friend. It's not some anonymous idiot posting those words, it's a person I've known and liked for years. When I look at that person's name, it conjures a flood of memories. If I click on their name, I might even see pictures of our shared experiences.

I have friends who are opinionated and passionate and intelligent and funny. That's part of what made me like them in the first place. If my friends are fearful, I want to be a reassuring presence. If they are angry or hurt, I want to listen to their troubles. I want them to know that, whatever madness is going on at the moment, at least they have a friend they can count on. It's what I'd want them to do for me.

I'm just one person and I can't stop all the anger on the internet. But I hope that by loving and praying and just being a friend, I can help create a small island of sanity in this crazy world.

Slowing Down

"Slow" seems to be the word of the moment. Slow food, slow living. I can appreciate the need for some slowness, but I'm one of those people who doesn't need any encouragement to be slow. I like being slow. I need help speeding up most times.

If 2010 was the year of the bird, and 2011 the year of the owl, perhaps 2012 will be the year of the snail.