When human errors flog us
when we must carry pain, heavy
as tragedies that turn us inward

like turtles inside grief’s shell, sorrows
heavy as mortgages on our backs
heavy as ever-increasing passwords

heavy as fallen statues, heavy
as motives beneath the question Why
when WHY is a lonely acronym

for When Hearts Yearn, slowly
then may we move, heart-to-heart
through questions of grief

who are we now
what will keep us breathing now
what does our spirit need now

until heart-to-heart, our yearnings
turn us toward love-beauty-kindness
life’s holy trinity

finally ready to shed grief’s shell
ready to protect the Salish Sea
the best we know how, for the SEA

carries Sacred Earth Answers to HOW
we Heal Our Wounds, hearts willing
NOW to Nurture Our World.

By Betty Scott

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