A new year

In the heart of winter

Challenges remain

People suffer

Our planet has been neglected

And maltreated

Injustice and prejudice continue to

Ravage many countries

But there is good will too

People who care

People who are peacemakers

People who serve their communities

People who are kind-hearted and honest

And this dichotomy is the characteristic 

Of the world we live in

It’s not all bad

But we have a long way to go

To allow our potential to come to fruition

We are diamonds in the rough

Sometimes seemingly unattractive

But the polish of the challenges of life

Will make us shine bright eventually

December 31, 2021

We thought we were reaching the end

We thought we had done enough sanitizing

Enough distancing

Enough not socializing

We thought online schooling was a thing of the past

We thought vaccines protected us

We thought the holiday parties would take place

We thought we could go into work again

But we were mistaken

Along came Omicron 

And away went our hopes and plans

Omicron which attacks with a vengeance

Omicron which evades vaccines

Omicron that transmits easily

Omicron where did you come from?

Why are you here?

Maybe we are not cooperating enough

Maybe we are not united in our actions and thoughts

Maybe we didn’t think enough about other countries

Maybe, maybe, what now?

There are many lessons to be learned

To bring us together as one family

Where the welfare of one is the welfare of all

And the problems of one are the problems of all

We are learning these lessons the hard way

We tend to be stuck in our ways

December 19th, 2021