Somewhere a father pulls his toddler’s
body from under the rubble. Somewhere
a mother explains to her daughter why
hate has weaponized rape. Death. Dust.
Destruction. Power. A war raging. Another.
Another. In a dreadfully skewed world,
should we just be thankful for safety?
For sleep? To be lucky enough to hold on
to the guard rails while the world slips into
chaos? Their world. Our world. World. What
is gratitude made of? Why is mine different
from yours? Theirs? Ours? We look for
signs of humanity, of compassion, of justice:
the way we envisage humanity and
compassion and justice. From one side. From
our side. Even false, even strange, those signs
are comforting, convenient, so we can let
ourselves lean back into the cushions of the
mundane. Should we be grateful for banality?
Just the ordinary day when nothing much
happens. A day of choices: act or not, understand
or not, feel or not, live or not, be on the right
side of history or not. This is the blessing. The
ordinary day. The luxury of choice. The safety
of power. The power of safety. The sky too,
just blue, clouds unbothered, drifting. This
day when nothing happens. Thank you, we
can whisper to the unremarkable night, we are
grateful nothing happened today and grateful,
we don’t have to ask ourselves if that’s okay.
THOUGHT PURGE 
Another great meditation on viewing horror from afar, a meditation on privilege. Sometimes I despair at the hatred brewing in every corner of our world. Your words are bright leaves peeking beneath the pavement cracks. Hopeful.
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Thanks so much. This is a heartbreaking war and the visuals are devastating. It needs to stop.
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Oh, alas we have to hear all those terrible stories, where will war come next… even here in Sweden we have a kind of war between rival criminal gangs which is now spreading everywhere, into the homes of people with a vague connection (like being the neighbor to a cousin of a gang-member), shooting the innocents in the middle of the night. Of course not on the level we see elsewhere, and not (yet) in our neighborhood.
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Violent gangs on the loose does sound very scary… with more disruptions because of war and climate, I suppose we will see more of social disturbances as well… there are so many consequences to an unstable, unequal world.
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Also drugs of course
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Yes.. that too… 😦
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The horror of these times has shocked us all I think. You’re right, appreciating the uneventful day and night is important. Beautiful written poem, as always. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Suzanne… that sense of privilege while horrors unfold in so many theatres of war is quite scary though… it all makes very little sense right now with war and climate destruction.
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Yes, sense is hard to come by. Nature can offer solace.
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wow great poem. and here i was thinking i didnt’ get much done today and wasted time i dont have. thank you for this reminder.
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Thanks Eric.. I think the privilege and luxury we enjoy is having that choice and not even thinking about it…. while elsewhere things are terrifying and existential.
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Your powerful poem made me take a deep breath, Rajani. The opening lines create such a vivid image that brings tears to my eyes – I just hope that the images we see on the news every day do not inure us to the horrors committed in other countries. The alliterative list of three: ‘Death. Dust. Destruction.’ Is very effective. I like the turn in your poem from horror to:
…This is the blessing. The
ordinary day. The luxury of choice. The safety
of power. The power of safety. The sky too,
just blue, clouds unbothered, drifting. This
day when nothing happens.’
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Thank you, Kim… in the face of a horrific war, I had to write about the privilege of having an inconsequential day and the choice of not even questioning it. Am glad you liked it.
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You’re more than welcome, Rajani.
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We need so very much the signs of humanity. Be there for each other. See each other. Please no more children pulled from rubble
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True, Laurie, one can only wish for humanity and love and safety for all… thanks so much.
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An powerful poem on the gratitude of safety when so many are and always have been far from safety – including the gratitude for banality is something that often passes too many by – until one contemplates the chaos of other’s lives.
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Thank you. It’s all we can do…understand, empathize and remember.
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Banality is a state of mind. The remarkable is in the ordinary which is in fact extraordinary……depends on one’s vision….We all started off in the jungle but the priviledged are selfish and entitled wreaking havoc on the planet with regard to climate. The current wars are more horrifying than can be imagined resulting in futile destruction and suffering….achieving nothing. Shakespeare said Hell is empty….all the devils are here….he’s not wrong !
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Yes, does seem like Shakespeare was right.! Thanks Rall.
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“To be lucky enough to hold on
to the guard rails while the world slips. . . ”
O, Rajani, our poems come from the same place, but as usual, you put in the horrific images, even in the choices we have to make, one of which is NOT to be oblivious. Our poems make sure of that. Once in a while I wish I could turn off the feelings, but isn’t that a death wish? Don’t worry, I don’t live anywhere dangerous, I have those ordinary days: “This is the blessing. The
ordinary day. The luxury of choice. The safety
of power. The power of safety.”
I am grateful for it. Sorry.
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Thank you Susan… turning off feelings is really impossible- as you say, a death wish. So we frame them in poems, but that is not enough. All we can do, is read and understand, sift truth from lies and perhaps..write one more poem. Sigh.
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The world is so chaotic that an ordinary day without much happenings becomes a blessing. “We look for / signs of humanity…” This is such a tragedy! We feel ashamed to say that we are grateful for we are safe. A very timely poem Rajani.
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Thanks so much, Sumana. A tragedy indeed…
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And so powerfully. I am struggling to find the words for this latest horror.
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This is so powerful, Rajani. It has come to this — being thankful that nothing happened. Such is the state of the world, being thankful JUST that we are safe (while we ARE safe), as in this world we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Very fine writing!!
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Thanks so much, Mary. Susan used the word privilege and she’s so right.. it is a privilege to be safe and yes, even that can’t be taken for granted. What a sorry state of affairs.
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Indeed, I never thought it would be considered to be privilege just to be safe, when so many are NOT.
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The news gets more depressing with each passing day…between the wars and climate change. To think we just got past a pandemic…
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It is a sad commentary on humanity that we have to be grateful for days when no bombs fall, or extreme weather events toss our lives upside down. You have expressed this beautifully, Rajani.
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Thanks so much, Sherry… these are really troubling times…difficult to just sit and watch helplessly. So very sad…
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