I stood alone today,

letting the hours pass,

feeling my anxiety,

my thoughts do scream.

Outside I could only imagine,

pain so many would experience.

I was safe in the immediacy.

I didn’t know direct loss.

I did light candles on my sills.

My mind has been racing,

I want to move beyond the news.

I live and breathe in the safety

of my own world untouched

by the fierce pain good people

will endure, risking their lives.

Our city really is under siege.

Our shelters are vulnerable.

In my meditations I’ll pray,

the world outside my own

discover a universal kindness.

This is my world in Minneapolis,

I do wish we might find love.