Whirlwind

Whirlwind life! Whirlwind days! 
Whirlwind hearts growing and breaking and opening and closing, and in the midst of it all, still trying to look the world in the eyes. Does your heart break open too? 
At the simple beauty of babies feet and the heartbreak of hunger waiting on every street corner? 
Mine splits open and open everyday, just enough to let a little more light in, just enough for the jewels to spill out into my eyes, and create a little more beauty than sadness. So here are words for the day: for a day that is the perfect amount of time. 

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
      And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
      And how else can it be?
      The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
      Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
      And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?"
--Kahlil Gibran

Breaking Open
Everyday 
            my feet surprise themselves
                       by getting out of bed

Meanwhile my heart breaks

          babies laugh
Children starve
          we fall in love
lovers die
          men rape
women break
          chickadees sing
my neighbor goes homeless
           my friend is jobless
rivers flow
          roses blossom

Meanwhile I breathe
      the world turns
           the sun still rises
                                      and sets
Babies are being born
                                to good homes and bad houses

Everyday my heart surprises me
                  by mending just enough to sleep
and break open again tomorrow