Susan LaffertyIn the close dark, I pray.
Struck by brilliant blue sky and bright sun sparkling on waves.
While fog of spiritual deception cloaks hearts and minds.
This is the most helpless I remember feeling during our sojourn across cultures.
Life plans don’t always take shape and move in directions we imagined.
So many things upend our neatly-laid strategies and schedules.
Visa delay or rejection. Medical emergencies. Evacuations and political uncertainties.
Children struggling in new cultures and places. Needing extra help with education.
Sudden changes of co-workers, coming and going.
It feels like setback. Unwanted adjustments.
Winter grey. And snow remains. On the edges. In corners.
Hidden from the sun. By shelter and shadow.
Held captive by cold. Temperatures never rising quite far enough.
Winter’s fringes remain visible today. From where I sit. Looking through glass.
