by Ernie McCray
September 2026
found me in high spirits,
thanks to quality time I enjoyed simply
being in the company
of good people
at a time when we human beings need each other
so urgently,
and the folks formed a nice range:
new and old friends I visited in my hometown,
a number of inspirational individuals
with whom I broke bread at a memorable dinner,
sharing so much laughter
and stories overflowing with wit,
and I’ll forever remember the time I spent with
a room of young high school artists
who are illustrating a collection of my poetry
and, on the subject of writing,
I got to hang out with my family
and other loved ones
at the launching party for a book my son wrote
and, as one who is attracted to the stage,
I sat in very good seats with other theater goers
at a jaw dropping
Phantom of the Opera production
and there was a nice evening of moving my shoulders and shaking my hips
as Brandi Carlile had some people
dancing in the aisles
with a variety of dance motions
at the Rady Shell venue
at the San Diego Bay
leading into the mighty Pacific Ocean.
People having so much fun
in spite of the world sometimes, lately,
seeming irreparably broken,
an indication
that we people have the power
to create a better world
as sure as the sun rises early each morning
and then sets
when the day is done.
And I felt that power,
on September’s last Sunday,
at Westminster Presbyterian Church,
a house of worship dedicated
to social missions,
to community outreach,
to inclusivity,
to welcoming diverse viewpoints,
to overcoming the likes of
systemic poverty and structural racism:
the essence,
for making a difference for the better
in the world.
And there could be no finer reason for my lightheartedness
in September
than being asked to share a couple of my poems
that conformed with this denomination’s purpose,
one of the rhymes
being about some hope-inspiring
young folks
who are heroes of mine
and another about an epiphany a rapper had
that placed in his mind the idea
of writing a song that was meant
“to plant the seed that our children need
to bring to the world the hope and love it needs” –
considering that children are the key
to whatever future
there will be.
I will remember this past September
ever so fondly,
hoping that the coming months
will treat me as tenderly.
