A poem to commemorate new beginning

In 2002, I wrote to my friend James: “It looks like a long, difficult, sad period of depression has lifted and a new, energetic beginning is being made, in a new direction.”

James replied with a poem “to commemorate new beginning”.


The Lifting of the Dread (for Rama)

James Christopher Aboud

Here's to the lifting of the dread, to the ball of hair
choking us without strangulation
that is spat out suddenly without explanation;

Here's to the unnoticeable things that once noticed
unlock the doors that lead us back

that remind us that everything is temporary
including this day, this beautiful day,
this moment of lightness seeping through the heavy sky

O let us memorize this moment as a prayer is memorized.

Painting: New Beginning, by David Miller.