for alone, we would never survive

A poem by Alexander Shalom Joseph

Good Afternoon,

Here is this week’s poem, today’s topic? Penguins and Loneliness! Woohoo!

Enjoy.

on another day

when everything feels

like too much to bear

I go to YouTube

and for some reason

the algorithm suggests

videos of penguins

I am not exactly sure why

this is what I choose

in today’s time of need

but here I am

in the middle of the morning

watching on my computer screen

as birds in a world of ice

huddle together

as a great storm

falls upon them

it is only because

they press into one mass

of breath and blood and heat

a single body in the night

that they are able to survive

any who stray from the crowd

are doomed to freeze

but together they make it through

and it makes me weep to watch it

for it feels like a cold night now

a cold night for the world

for our country

for the nature we live within

it feels dark

and I long to be held

within the huddle

of everyone here

I long to be together

through this

and so I call up some friends

and my lover

and we go to the park

to watch the sunset

and there is still so much hurt

there is still everything going on

that I was overwhelmed by

but for an hour or so

we are a little version

of that penguin huddle

coming together

to survive the storm

for alone we could never survive

Thank you,

Alexander