April 2021’s Poem of the Month is meant to speak of Resilience in both the personal and the collective sense. Torn between a poem about personal resilience and a collective group resilience, I opted to introduce the subject from an angle about which I have some experience… personal resilience.

Mary Oliver’s words resonated with me… I mean, really resonated with me. I know that everything that has happened in my life has made me what I am today!! And it has taken resilience to learn and grow from those setbacks and experiences. To paraphrase a thought shared with me by my daughter, Nicole LaFollette (a wonderful poet): “Like everyone else, I am unique.”

It requires a unique form of resilience to overcome the unique setback, whether personal or collective. And, whatever the problem or setback — personal or collective — resilience to overcome and move forward is the responsibility to keep in mind… a personal or a collective responsibility if we are to move forward — either as an individual or as a society.

Remember this: Whatever the question, love is the answer.

RESILIENCE

“Someone I once loved gave me a box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand that it was a gift.”
Mary Oliver said those words. I can now relate.
Back then it was different. I was cast adrift.

“Whatever will I do?” “How can I go on?”
The questions… the questions! Would they ever stop?
Panic, then blaming, then a meltdown or two —
Till the light finally dawned one day in a coffee shop.

Writing my feelings — taking a good hard look,
I realized that any change was entirely up to me.
People around me who were happy in their lives
Were ones who had bounced back from adversity.

Resilience is knowing you’re the only one who has
The power and the responsibility to pick yourself up.
Resilience comes from having been given the chance
To work through problems — a bootstrap pull-up.

Charles Darwin was credited with the following statement
(Sharing it here might actually not be so strange.):
“It’s not the strongest nor the smartest of the species that survive,
But the ones who are most responsive to change.”

The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak
Which can snap in its resistance to the storm.
Staying committed to your decisions, but flexible in your approach,
Your power is the power to actually transform!

Resilience is always within your reach
When troubles occur, and you are stymied.
You simply have to decide, and take charge there and then.
There’s light at the end of the tunnel as you proceed.

How to be resilient in the latter part of a pandemic
Is a question on the minds of many people today.
Individually, we’re struggling to maintain our balance,
With the hope of surviving another day.

Globally, the need for resilience is paramount.
We must focus on the positive things to change our course
(That are in our control, I hasten to add),
Moving always forward, using every resource.