UPWARD

by Marguerite G. Bouvard


After a heavy and prolonged rain
the flowers whose stalks were
bent on the ground like a waterfall
in stasis, are beginning to slowly

rise up, at a time when we all
need to move upward from what
assails us. The trees are making new
shoots, people are reaching out

to each other in small ways;
the quiet ongoing process in Israel
with Sheikh Raed Bader and
Rabbi Michael Melchior working

together for peace in a country
where religions and nationalities
are raging against each other,
showing us that our Creator

does not have only one name,
that we need to honor every
life over the distinctions
that separate us when the colors

of the sunset with its intertwining
clouds bring together the sea,
earth and sky, the light that ushers
each one of us to life.


* * * * *

Marguerite G. Bouvard is the author of 11 poetry books, two of which have won awards including the MassBook Award for Poetry. She has also written a number of non-fiction books on women's rights, human rights, social justice, grief, and has just finished one, Healthcare Workers on the Frontline of the Pandemic. Her poetry collection The Cosmos of the Heart came out fall 2020. Her poetry collection Shades of Meaning will be out late December 2021.