Everything Is Held By Something
Everything holds something else
Everything Is Held By Something
Everything is held by something.
Everything holds something else. The body a soul,
a soul the light, a bowl just about anything.
A bag can hold, as you know, several books at once.
And arms, you may know, hold the falling, just as
the ground holds the deceased.
There are many names for this most crucial task
of being, many ways we are held and hold.
A cupped palm, for instance, or a flask, holds water,
and water holds life. Just as language holds meaning,
and tradition holds history, and your gaze holds mine
holds yours.
How else would we have survived this long without
a mouth that holds truth, ears that hold resonance,
lungs that hold air. How else would we have survived
this long without a left hand holding the right.
Not to mention gravity holding the earth, time
holding us together, thirst holding our desperation,
holding our longing.
And let’s not forget the benevolence of a sky holding
hope, and the grasses that provide rest, and the wide
container of faith that holds us through every difficult
day and each fertile night.
- Moudi Sbeity
Oh, how a simple list becomes such a touching poem... not least that marvelous final stanza that lands the poem so beautifully:
"And let’s not forget the benevolence of a sky holding
hope, and the grasses that provide rest, and the wide
container of faith that holds us through every difficult
day and each fertile night."
Thank you, Moudi!
As I hold you Moudi, and you hold me, and the many who read here hold you as well.❣️