Dear Children
We do not wake up hating.
We do not wake up better than anyone else.
If someone says something ugly
we don’t have to say it too. We say No.
We wake with a cat curled on our feet.
We wake with remembering.
I brush my hair with hope.
We know three things from yesterday:
Neptune is the coldest planet.
They used to say Pluto, but Pluto got reclassified.
Two times nine equals eighteen and somehow
that is easier than two times eight. Some numbers
feel like friends. Would you rather be even or odd?
We do not want more than our neighbors have
because how could we enjoy it? If you have a scooter,
I do not need a rocket launcher.
If you eat peaches, I will have peaches. We do not
kick the sad man at the corner holding a sign.
His sign has changed, did you notice? Bring him a
hot biscuit, an apple. I think it’s time
we visit the Botanical Garden to see
what really changed.
Current Affairs
I don’t want to be
one of those modern people
who reads about Gazans
being crushed wholesale
entire blocks
extended families
invisible kitchens
then continues scrolling.
We will not delete you.
We would give you
anything we have.
Your pain is not money.
Feel us from a far place.
Howling in darkness.
What are you supposed to?
No one should have to bear.
I love you so much I can smell
the garlic in your shirt,
the dirt on your shoes,
the smoke in your air.
***
Author photograph courtesy of Naomi Shihab Nye
