Hope and grief: the outrageous rebellion | poem

I'd like to encourage you to do something simple today that brings you joy. Bake a crumble. Find a bright yellow leaf and hold it up to the light. Drink hot chocolate while watching the rain run down the window pane.

These things seem small, but they're big. Because it's not frivolous to remind ourselves to rest, to laugh, to see beauty.

More and more, hope feels to me like an act of rebellion - an outrageous choice to make in the face of everything. Even while we're grieving and weary, there are simple things we can do to remind ourselves to hope and to feel joy. Yesterday, as the latest lockdown announcement trickled through the media, I found myself writing this poem.

Small Acts of Defiance

there’s no recipe to cure grief

or mend the world’s hurt

and yet there's strength in these tiny moments of light

these blackberry pies, pocketed acorns, paintbrushes drying

are small acts of defiance

to say, to choose, that darkness will not win

hope is a rebellion

it smells like ginger

wafting from the kitchen

weighs heavy as an egg

I will find joy

and I will grieve

and there will be a better day

Wherever you are, however you're feeling today, I hope you find a moment to rebel and choose hope.