Naturally Optimistic
High living sickens planet atmosphere,
ill winds blow, regular cycles disrupt;
whether or not to worry we debate.
—-
Muscled politics pound the world’s mosaic,
mortars crumble under booted feet,
military maneuvers capture headlines.
—
But, at sunrise, birds still cheerfully warble
usual blue sky songs, and wild flowers riot
in demonstrations of compatible diversity.
—
Amazing industry, but can an ant refuse
to carry crumbs, or march for the colony?
May it choose not to satisfy a sadistic queen?
—
Carpenter ants ever decide boring wood
is boring? Do argentines long for Argentina?
Do only humans suffer such ideas?
—
Spiders begin work with a single line,
rhythm and meter weave across space,
silken instinct creates gossamer stanzas.
—
In my garden, positive actions bloom:
birds pleasantly call, ants tend to business,
and spiders spin hope into their poetry.
Elaine Anne Westheimer 