May we all trade stories
under shade trees at some park
in a square state, eat potato salad
and marvel we made it this far.
Let us agree to agree,
as we know a sneer will only
snowball and the firehose of fear
may take years to twist off.
May we look to our children
to remind us of the scientific names
of knowing, the reason we persisted
and the new harmonics of kindness.
We will lie down with our
resilience, warmed by quilts, lovers
and dogs. May we warn each other
like a bedtime story.
