by Ernie McCray
I’ve enjoyed an incredible
amount of bliss
in my lifetime
but none of it
comes close to the
unbelievable happiness I’m feeling today
because my joys
have been momentary,
kind of here one day
and gone in a few days.
Like a moment when I stood proudly
wearing a warm smile of appreciation
as Arizona Wildcat basketball fans
cheered loudly
in commemoration
of my place
in the university’s sports history.
However, the energy from all the celebrating,
like a tissue
hovering in a breeze,
just quietly blew away,
finding a resting place
inside me
where I hold on to
my many precious memories.
But this joy I’m feeling now
has lasted for days
because I had been living in fear
that the world I have known
and hold dear
was near its end,
seemingly soon someday,
as I had been watching and listening
to a bona-fide demon
of a candidate for president
weave coldhearted propositions
that would benefit nobody but him,
ideas that have horrified me,
especially as I age,
because my progeny
would have to live under such
unsavory hope-destroying conditions
without my love and protection.
But seeing that his
evil plans
are unlikely
to come into existence,
due to citizens
more and more organizing
with strong resistance
against his unwarranted destructive shenanigans,
has given birth
to an ecstasy in me
that’s incredibly persistent,
a jubilation
that’s put a grin
on my face
like the one I displayed
in reaction
to the ovation
regarding my basketball playing days
except this state of contentment
appears as though it will last until the end of time –
just from knowing
that a caring society
remains a possibility.
It’s truly a joy unlike
any I’ve ever known.
