Broken and Beautiful

Both/and
Broken and beautiful
Life is complex, spectacular, horrifying, scary, ugly, absolutely breath taking, heart warming, loving, hateful, wicked, amazing, inspiring, terrible, painful, completely astonishing, miraculous, evil, surprising, staggering, incredible.

I weep for the 32 plus 1
I wail for the 3000 + of 911
I sob even harder for the tens of thousands more dying in war
All forms of human atrocity
Spewed out daily on the radio

Should I retreat in respite from the agony?
Should I flee into my own safe world?

Only my world is no more protected
It knows the deepest of grief
I’ve known for 5 years now, what the parents of Virginia Tech
are just now discovering

Where then do I escape?
When my private experience mirrors the suffering of the world-
The deepest of losses
The most extreme of betrayals
Where is my innocence to be found?
How do I live the legacy?

It comes back again and again to this moment
The simple pleasure of touch
The uplift of sunrise
The connection to spirit
and love of friends.

Yes I will keep breathing in the pain
and breathing out compassion
I will not apologize for that again
I will acknowledge the suffering
but enjoy the moment.
This is who I am
This is how I heal
This is my journey
In this broken and beautiful world

*****

April 19, 2007
Written in memory to the 32 people who lost their lives in
senseless violence on April 16, 2007 while trying to better themselves and the world.
© 2007 Elene Bratton