GRACE

 in one day I drive past a coyote, a skunk, a fawn

each felled in a flash of inattention or perhaps

of strategic deliberation and I can see the wind

lifting the fur as the car speeds past, their grace

 hovering over them even in death, and

every night I petition the Ancient of Days

supplication for all without voices, for their comfort

for eternity more blissful than anyone supposed.

I WANT TO BELIEVE

I once read in a book on astrology that for mothers who wish their babies never had to grow up, if their babies are born under the sign of Pisces then those moms will have their wish.  Well, I am a Pisces and I have to admit it's true.  A part of me still believes in magic, fairies, unicorns, and Santa Clause (as a child in my ultra-conservative Christian home Santa was never allowed) along with all things that might make life better and more interesting.

Four years ago at the Democratic National Convention, I heard Barack Obama's speech and I said to my family as we watched it live and to my friends as we watched it on tape afterward, "I hope this man runs for president."  I never imagined, however, that he would be running in the very next election.  Nevertheless, I'm glad he is, because I want to believe in his words.  I want to believe he will end this imperialistic war that has put our country so much deeper into debt, that has been such a boon for corporations like Haliburton, and that has cost so many young lives.  I want to believe he will end or greatly reduce the influence of lobbyists in Washington, and that he will bring health care to every American.  I want to believe that he will renegotiate NAFTA and initiate steep penalties against corporations who outsource American jobs overseas.  The list goes on and on, but if ever there was a time for change, it is now.

For the past couple of years or so, my husband's plant where he has worked for the past twenty-three years has been on the chopping block.  Each time I pray and it survives.  Barely.  This time, I found out yesterday, it survived again, but the plant is going to lose a third of its business, so it's really just a matter of time.  It's doubtful the economy can turn around in time to save it.  The really sad thing here is that I know we are the lucky ones.  Millions of Americans have already lost their jobs, jobs they worked at for over twenty years, just like my husband, jobs that have been outsourced to other countries so the corporations can continue to make record profits and their CEOs can receive yearly bonuses of several million on top of salaries of several million.  I am heartsick over the direction Bush and his Neo-Con minions have taken this country.  I want to believe it's not too late.