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For Ukraine (Poem For Feb 25-PouncePunk22)

Let us gather chrysanthemums

For mourning in these perilous times.

Weave them into crowns of sorrow

For grief at lives taken in brutal war.

Scatter their petals on the wind

For sympathy with those who remain.

These are but the slightest gestures,

Tiny funereal floral tributes.

Do more where we can.

I walk on debris,

The detritus of expectations.

I gather fragments to make kintsugi dreams,

Toss them in the air, and watch them come crashing down.

They add to the rubble underfoot.

Thus it has always been. Thus it continues.

I laugh with delight.

This fragile skin encloses us all.

A tender veil of different hues shelters each from harm.

Pierce it, and the results come regardless of appearance.

A common membrane ensures our well-being.

And yet. This also defines us.

We do not see another living being that is just like us.

We focus on the myriad manifestations of this mortal wrap.

You are this because. I am that because. We are not alike.

Judgement and separation. We have built our world hence.

Can we learn to undo this? To realize our selfsameness?

Remake the swords of disconnection into ploughshares of compassion.

Remove the veil of ignorance that prevents clear sight.

Everyone and all things shine with the same pure light.

Teach your children well.