The copper bar top engraved with stunning rings
stained, overlapping, spreading, uncleanable
resisting the wipe-away desired by those in power.
They speak of conversations
some flavored with fear and trepidation
some with lust and the shadow of caution
some with hubris and the needs of the small
but some speak of thick laughter and deep honesty
of finding similarity beyond surface of geography, of system, of class,
Bent rather similarity of heart, of experience, of longing, of hope
These rings stained into this copper bar top
may very well speak,
at least quietly or in a half-sure whisper,
to the promise of connectedness
in the work
in the struggle
in the pain
in the insecurity
in the embarrassment
and also to the promise of connectedness
in the work
in the triumph
in the resilience
in the honesty
In he camaraderie.
We find ourselves in the honesty
of another
of anothers
And we realize that while the
narratives are so often laden with the
arsenic of loss, of trauma, of despair,
of finales and of failings and of fallings,
they are also laden with the
lace of humanity, of hopefulness, of possibility
of collegiality and of curiosity and of connectedness.
So we take a moment,
between knowing deep belly laughter
and knowing deep gutted tears
to honor the reality that
we
are
not
alone.
So even the person sitting quietly with book and drink
looking down at the stained copper bar top knows
he is part of a conversation and a community
whose reach is as much in the present as it
has ever been in the past or will be in the future.
Cheers.
djordan
Seattle, WA
most hopeful 