What Will Save Us Today?

What will save us today?

Art will save us.

Flowing water will save us.

The shapes and colors of leaves will save us if we do not rush to rake

and blow

and burn to oblivion

or compost.

The feel of smooth wood in the hand 

along with the story of the wood’s ancestry,

along with the story of your ancestry and mine.

The portrait of the shapes of apples and oranges

by firelight might save us.

And one plum, or is it a fig?

Giving might save us.

Listening might.

Poetry and the impulse to poetry could save us if we let it.

That whisper of doubt and this toxic shout will most likely not save us,

but some will try,

nonetheless.

What will save us today?

Pandora and her

magic box—danger be damned.

Nina Simone, from afar,

might save me.

Chocolate?

Spice?

Flavor buds may not spark enough desire to

save me today, tired of taste, too.

That one tiny bird out there on a brittle

and frigid limb might have just

the lift I need. I’ll go out and try.

Hiding helps;

behind the sofa

is cozy and warm.