November 04, 2008
election day*
prayer flags, Santa Cruz, CA, Canon Rebel Xti
Because my friend Maya said it so well...
This day opens
I don't think it is possible
to want too much.
The morning isn't even here
but already my heart is racing.
We can't always make sense
of what we yearn for, but the act of yearning
is what keeps everything alive.
Even the silence of 2 a.m. is full of promise.
This day opens like a poem
waiting to be written.
Now go out and vote!
Posted on November 4, 2008 08:57 AMI wish I had read this poem on election day.
It was just how I was feeling.
So hopeful.
Yet at the same time fearful, as the disappointments of the past 8 years hung over me like ghosts.
By 5:00 pm here on the west coast, as I sat with my little girl in a cafe uptown, sipping my coffee...the waitresses put on the TV and the news was already projecting Obama would take Pennsylvania.
This amazing, strange, sense of calm washed over me.
I knew then it was going to be ok.
I don't know how I knew? but I felt so sure and the feeling was unlike any other I'd felt in a long while.
A -
You humble me your generosity in sharing my words. Thank you. What an incredible day Tuesday was, no? I feel so lucky to be alive right now. And I feel it, walking through this city. A new lightness, openness, possibility. Something softer and more forgiving. It's such a gift.
A -
You humble me your generosity in sharing my words. Thank you. What an incredible day Tuesday was, no? I feel so lucky to be alive right now. And I feel it, walking through this city. A new lightness, openness, possibility. Something softer and more forgiving. It's such a gift.
I loved this poem too. Maya's a stunning poet :)
Posted by: Di at November 6, 2008 05:06 AMclose to perfection. which is all we can hope for.
Posted by: Molly Merrick at November 5, 2008 06:42 PMAh! Stunning poem and so beautifully captures the feeling of yesterday!! Reminds me of Maya ANGELOU!
Posted by: Laura Neff at November 5, 2008 01:50 PMI love this poem. It was perfect for what I felt yesterday.
I woke up this morning, so excited to share the news with my 7 year old. And then I found the following quote in my inbox from The Foundation for A Better Life, which summed up so much of what the process of choosing a president has been for me...
“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
—Desmond Tutu (b. 1931); Archbishop, Nobel Peace Prize Winner
and this day (especially) opens like a poem.
Posted by: kim at November 5, 2008 04:52 AM"the act of yearning is what keeps everything alive."
amen.
Yay for us! We did it!
Posted by: Maggie at November 4, 2008 09:15 PMGood luck today USA :) even us Aussies are glued to our seats waiting for the final outcome (I keep updating my 'US election results' map-- looking good for Obama, as of 2pm Australian Eastern Standard Time).
Posted by: Laura at November 4, 2008 08:03 PMFreedom
rides on the back
of all voters.
What a perfect poem for the day.
Happy election day USA! I am very excited for you.
Posted by: Anna at November 4, 2008 02:11 PMWhat beautiful words.
I voted early this morning and it has never felt better to drop my ballot in the box and to believe.
just voted...it felt so good
Posted by: jessica at November 4, 2008 01:00 PMI love this! I can't to vote today!
Posted by: jenn at November 4, 2008 11:11 AMbeautiful words.
Posted by: lori at November 4, 2008 10:38 AMWhat a fitting poem for today.
Posted by: christine at November 4, 2008 09:17 AM