January 6th

He lives across the street, two doors down

He drives a maroon pickup and waves each day on his way inside his house

One morning in the park, while watching the sun paint shadows on the pond

I heard, “Howdy Neighbor,” turned around and there he was on a cane

He told me he had his knee replaced and when this one heals

He will have the other one replaced so work can pay for it before he retires

We bonded over injury and healing stories and

If I was outside on his therapy walks, he’d stop and talk, a bit

I learned his wife has been disabled twenty years and rarely leaves their house

He shared he’s vaccinated and scared of COVID, too

We wanted to stay friends so when we clashed over politics

We’d change the subject to our grandkids

____

This September, I had a stroke and I spent four days in the hospital

A music therapist friend came by for visit with her harp

We did not talk about politics just music and poetry and

How we must sit down over coffee when this pandemic is over

She played a song she composed to one of my poems

It made me feel happy and that was enough

____

A friend asked me to come and maybe speak to a gathering at the State House

On the first anniversary of the insurrection in our nation’s capital

I said I’d come and maybe write a poem and I did and I’m here to ask you

How do we seek justice without hate and how do we heal and

How do we find unity in our house divided without burning it down

…and where do we go from here?

1-6-22