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I have awakened

from a dream

in which I’d nearly forgotten what it felt like

to experience awe

to sense the joy in a sunrise

or appreciate the tenderness in a mother’s smile

and the sparkle in a child’s eye,

to laugh with abandon

over silly little things

and marvel

at the guilelessness

of little children

and how it infuses their moments

with bliss.

 

I have awakened

from a dream

Where I had forgotten how to feel

to such an extent, and for so long

that I had come near to losing

the ability to weep,

readily, and without warning,

at any hint

of the absolute, raw beauty

the dignity,

the humanity of our collective venture

on this spinning mass of stone and blood and hope.

 

I have awakened

from a place

Where I had almost lost the ability

to feel the pain

of those less fortunate

whose legions rise

even as the republic sinks,

swept beneath waves of selfishness.

 

A life well-lived

is a life deeply felt.

A life without feeling

is an opportunity lost–

a gift spurned

a path disregarded

an ode to sadness

and a litany of what might have been.

 

I welcome my tears!

I rejoice in their return.

They remind me of my humanity—

of the connectedness

that binds us in consequence

of our actions

and of the love

that is the touchstone

of our collective being.

 

There is, after all,

little difference

between the sparkle in a child’s eye

and the twinkling of the stars.

 

Tim Konrad