It takes one kind of fortitude
to stand against the flame,
to face disaster, to act decisively

It takes another to endure the smoke,
the dreariness, the waiting,
to find some way to still be active
when there’s nothing you can do

Life goes on anyway,
algae forming in the pond …
leaves turn, dragonflies hover,
berries ripen, and dry out,
their own cycles
absorbing them entirely.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 15, 2020