Today seems like a day of reflection to me and strange parallels with other people’s experiences. Sometimes you gotta let go of the old to embrace the new even though you may not know exactly what that new is going to be. I write this way sometimes because too many people only see a snapshot and erroneously assume that’s how everything is out here. That’s the problem with human thinking, assuming what we don’t know to fill in all the voids of everything we don’t!

With the tragic death of fellow advocate Tricia Patricelli, I am even more acutely aware of just how fragile and sudden life begins and ends. Looking for missing relatives on Staten Island in the wake of hurricane Sandy is another stress factor that lends itself well to sleepless nights filled with nightmares, something homeless people are already living in on a daily basis.

All it takes is one incident to change how you see things and once that line is crossed, you’ll never be the same again. I witness small miracles everyday, some online and some right before me as I walk down the street. As I write this, someone is talking to me on Twitter, a kind volunteer whose Twitter handle is @Honeybee22274. She has taken it upon herself to help look for two relatives of mine, Chris and Mike Tacardon. Last I heard was that they were living on Staten Island and since the hurricane, relatives over here in Seattle haven’t heard from them. What makes an individual go out of their way to help their fellow man/woman/child? What is that spark inside of people that makes them put aside whatever perceived differences there are between us in order to make a stand against apathy? To me, most humans are self interested so behaving outside of that basic tendency is in itself, a thing of wonder.

We all want to believe that somehow, we are all advanced beings capable of so much more yet when you look at the news and watch people in or on the streets every day, the opposite is true. Why do we need some kind of disaster to spur us into compassion for each other? What will it take for us to put away the excuses we tell ourselves everyday and actually do what we already know we should be?

For Tricia, those worries are over but for her family, heartache has begun. It is for her that I wrote the poem that follows…..

Place of peace

Today

The sky lit a smudge for you

In misty clouds of grey

I stood beneath them and

Let their tears wash mine away

And even though I

Walk among many

They aren’t saying much

So I listen to the echoes

I keep telling myself because

Some times

They’re all I have left

But

Tomorrow breathes a promise

I intend to give to you

It is a place of peace

Resting deep inside of me