Stay Open by James Crews
Reading the news, I start to believe
the world wants me closed tight
as a fist, only able to batter and
pound and destroy. But some wiser
voice inside tells me to be more
crocus, more tulips, more peony,
staying open to days of sun and rain
and even the shock of pelting sleet,
which must eventually melt into
the ground, touching each tender root
with no small amount of surprise—
that something once so hard, so cold
could soften enough to nourish and flow.
#poetry