I want to write a blog on the wonder of pomegranates, and I will, sometime soon.

But the slam of edicts coming out of Washington this past week—edicts that adversely affect millions of people, including family members and friends— spawned in me grief and rage. Probably best not to get too self-righteous, though, forgetting that I am a part of the collective cultural shadow that the administration is acting out.

Amidst other constructive responses (and nonconstructive fantasies) I found strength in this poem. So I thought I’d share it in case you find strength in it too. Written in 2018 and shared in my blog in November of that year, it remains as relevant as ever.

Revolution, The Day After

Revolution is finding your horizon
And then walking toward it.
Knowing that you will be walking
For a very long while,
Or always.
Because the process of getting there,
Because bringing in a better world,
Will take more than your one lifetime.

Revolution is traveling light,
Leaving what’s dead weight
By the side of the road.
Like vengeance
And stone-cold hatred
That expands and gets heavier,
Like slow-drying cement,
In the chambers of your heart.

Revolution is holding close
All you love,
All you believe in,
All you hope for.
Everything that actually matters.

Because you’re going to get tired
    and discouraged
        and angry
            and wander off course. 

You’re going to need
What you’ve gathered,
Embraced and endured.
Because it’s love,
Always love,
That will tug on your sleeve
And remind you to look up,
       Search the sky for True North.
Get a bead on something
     Improbable
Shining and unstoppable

And keep walking.  

Carrie Newcomer

Using rage as fuel, grief as lubrication/hydration, and love as compass and motor, let’s travel together, supporting and defending each other, as we seek to create something shining, however improbable it may seem, no matter how long it takes.