a poem.

Try to praise the mutilated world. Remember June’s long days, and wild strawberries, drops of wine, the dew. The nettles that methodically overgrow the abandoned homesteads of exiles. You must praise the mutilated world. You watched the stylish yachts and ships; one of them had a long trip ahead of it, while salty oblivion awaited others. You’ve seen the refugees heading nowhere, you’ve heard the executioners sing joyfully. You should praise the mutilated world. Remember the moments when we were together in a white room and the curtain fluttered. Return in thought to the concert where music flared. You gathered acorns in the park in autumn and leaves eddied over the earth’s scars. Praise the mutilated world and the gray feather a thrush lost, and the gentle light that strays and vanishes and returns. —Adam Zagajewski.I came across this poem this morning. It was originally published in The New Yorker on September 24, 2001 and meant a lot of things to many people in the weeks and months and years following 9/11. It stuck with me today. Beautiful, hopeful words that will never make tragedy any easier but that serve as a beacon of light. Maybe it'll mean something to you too.image found here.