This is not the Easter of the Easters we remember.
Nor is it the Spring of past Springs
When our hearts were light and carefree
As we savored lengthening days, team sports,
The final stretch of the school year,
Tomato plantings for colorful salads in July,
Summer vacation countdowns,
And all the other rosy plans that consumed our thoughts.
No. This is different. We are different.
Happiness is beyond our reach.
Instead we search for joy in things
We had forgotten or ignored or thought common
Or never knew – before.
No, this is not any Spring we remember,
Nor any Easter of our past.
But both are here.
They are our life now, our some-day history.
Yes, we will remember them.
And when we do,
We will know the lesson we have learned: To do
What’s Important Now.
We will nod our heads in memory,
And we will rejoice. We made it through.
Submitted by Barbara Kalkis, Santa Clara County – San Jose.