A Poem for Locust Pose
"Bring us strength, bring us peace, bring us love, bring us relief—" -- from Locust Pose, by Corie Feiner
I post this poem today with these questions — how do we maintain composure during tumultuous personal, social, and/or politically charged times? How do we celebrate our cultures and lives on days of full of mourning?
When I think of locusts, I think of the eighth plague in Exodus which was the scourge of locusts swarming and devouring all the Egyptian crops. I think of sorrow and loss. I think of children going hungry whatever side of the enemy line they fall on. I think of the locust, which is a grasshopper really, and how this sweet-looking creature can be perfectly quiet and content on its own, but then can become so destructive when it becomes part of a ravaging pack.
This poem came to me as an almost urgent call for us open our hearts even more to love, to stretch the wings of our arms and be content enough and brave enough to think our own thoughts and sing our own song.