Member-only story
It Was Just a Matter of Time
A poem for healing
It was just a matter of time
before the dog’s surgery loomed
and the money ran thin
and the virus arrived to slow us down
It was just a matter of time
before nephews hid in lockdown
and phones went straight
to voicemail
and bullets sprayed the path to the dog park
while couples held hands behind closed curtains
and a son-turned-soldier
slept in the dirt with a rifle for a blanket
whispering prayers under a rainy night
while his mother kept his room
mostly the same
folding laundry on his bed
whispering prayers under the golden autumn light
It was just a matter of time
before the peace wielders’ desire for change
was stronger than the addiction to strife
was more seductive than power
It was just a matter of time
before Justice’s lantern was a beacon
and love bloomed in fields
previously left fallow by blood
concrete rubble and bones.
2023
May all who suffer know peace.
