Today the lids on the coffee tumblers match;
left shoe pairs with right,
no holes in socks.
Seems to be starting on the right foot.

But as I get into the car to begin my day
I think of the hostages still underground in Gaza,
the holes in hearts that cannot close,
healing that cannot commence
when those murdered haven’t yet been
brought to burial.

How much pain there is in the world;
so raw that you can’t touch it,
don’t want to go near it,
but hope that a hug, prayers, smile, and tears
will help some of it dissolve.

Knowing that babies are still being born,
people still putting shoes on and
going to work.
School is still open.
The paradox continues:
Prayers,
Hope,
Resilience.

We won’t ever give up
until they are all home
with their shoes at the door.