January 13, 2026

As the New Year Begins 

These days
I have grown clumsy,
things taking flight
from my hands,
as if determined to 
gain their freedom.
And I bump, crash,
knock over  --
as if I'd lost my sense
of place in the world.

And from this point
of kneeling,
I find myself willing
to relinquish
the woman I was
for the woman I am:

The one strangers
confide in, with
whom babies make
eye contact –
Who may not know
what day it is,
but will hold your hand
all the way
to the hospital.

For whom art
means more than
ever, who has
returned to making
and collecting --
knowing perfectly well
it all gets erased 
in the end.

Who is willing to
surrender
her death grip on
the future
for peace here,
in the cold right now.