Heavy, Too

Lake Erie / Buffalo’s Outer Harbor, New York

When the world feels heavy

And like all hope is lost

Seek the sound of water lapping the shores

The flight of birds cascading across sunny skies

The sheer buoyancy of the color green

That keeps everything afloat

Stones and driftwood

Clouds and cool breezes

All of this has been around

Well before us

And will continue

Amidst and even after

The most recent heart-wrenching tragedy

My heart is heavy

But these things are heavy, too

———

How many times have I come here

To this exact spot

Along the shores of a lake

Upon the rocks

To have the world’s problems solved?

Countless versions of past Eds

Looking for solace in the waves

Crashing next to my feet

And the world around me

Just gets worse

The waves and the water and the lake

They don’t answer in sweeping tones

That would bring our systems to their knees

The replies I get

And have always gotten

Are small

But no less meaningful

Carry on,

They say

Ride the waves

Every time I come here,

The answer is the same

In a way

And I leave

A little more refreshed

A little lighter

And maybe that’s the best

That I can ask for