I participated in an online writing event hosted by Laura Lentz last Friday.  100 of us listened to poems and readings and then were given 13 minutes to write.  The theme was lungs and breathing but really just about anything while we all sit in quarantine.

I had been giving a lot of thought to the word “hope” prior to the class and in the 13 minute time frame – hope is what rose to the top.

The rough 13 minutes on the emergence of hope…

They say that in the eye of the hurricane everything stops.
The eye of the hurricane is upon me – my home – my community – my city. The experts say the worst will be in the days ahead. A surge. A chaos. Cries in the night. Masks, ventilators, protective gear.
It is sooo quiet outside now. Yet, I hear birds – so many birds. I hear kids down the street, walking and laughing with their parents. We are all on foot.
The daffodils sway. The tulips are closed. But standing upright, they seem hopeful.
Hope. Isn’t that that the thing?
In the quiet of the eye, I walk the street with my dog and from many feet apart we wave at others. I look up at the sky. It is a vibrant blue. And at night the stars shimmer.
Maybe, just maybe, the quiet is trying to tell me something. Maybe, just maybe, if I can listen.
Before the eye passes. Before the worst hits.
Breathe, she said. Breathe.
Hope will be your superpower.

And in that moment, clarity in the eye of the storm.