Poem: Mid-December
December 17, 2021
Mid-December
It’s harder to hear
what everyone is saying
because of the masks
muffling so much
of the usual exchanges,
but a few things
slip through:
“Stay safe,”
“I’ll call you later,”
“Okay, baby, thank you,”
and in Harlem, on 125th Street,
an echo of a man
walking west and singing,
“Alleluia, alleluia.”
I wish I had a turn,
something wise to declare,
to inoculate us against
the feeling of Here
We Go Again—and
everything else—
but all I have is that
unexpected but welcome
“Alleluia, alleluia.”
© Susan Thomsen, 2021
*****
The Poetry Friday roundup is at Jone Rush MacCulloch's blog.
That Alleluia will be enough to carry us through...especially if we all join in!
Posted by: Mary Lee | December 18, 2021 at 07:00 AM
Mary Lee, yes, a little something small to hold onto!
Posted by: Susan | December 18, 2021 at 09:27 AM
It feels like some hope for NYC & all the rest of us who wait for that other shoe to drop. Happy Holidays, Susan!
Posted by: Linda Baie | December 18, 2021 at 10:01 AM
And to you, too, Linda! I have really enjoyed participating in Poetry Friday again after a many-year hiatus.
Posted by: Susan T. | December 18, 2021 at 11:53 AM
Thanks for hearing, holding and sharing those “Alleluia, alleluia.” And I welcome more of them, let's look for more light at the end of our winter tunnel… The alleluia also reminds me of Leonard Cohen's song too.
Posted by: Michelle Kogan | December 19, 2021 at 01:48 AM
Michelle, yes, more light! I thought of Leonard Cohen, too. It's often those moments of "What's he saying?" that make the best lines to borrow from passers-by.
Posted by: Susan T. | December 19, 2021 at 01:31 PM
I'll hang tight to that hopeful Alleluia, too, Susan. Thanks for this.
Posted by: Karen Edmisten | December 21, 2021 at 10:29 AM
You're so welcome, Karen.
Posted by: Susan T. | December 21, 2021 at 12:18 PM