Source: WeHeartIt
An Eerie Stillness
The day after Christmas, I was walking in the early morning light when the following came to my mind …
An eerie stillness
permeates the quiet
morning air
A strange warmth
on a cold winter day
A grey day
Silence so loud
it can be felt
Then …
Small birds breaking
that strange silence
chattering happily
as though it is
Spring …
The year begins with secrets … silence … and today is the reality of those feelings. No one knows what will happen next. When the next shoe will fall … for good or bad. Emma didn’t know how to act or react right now. Deep in her heart she wanted to rage against the coming storm. Let her voice be heard with the thousands of others protesting, but she also wanted to hide … to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the horror televised daily.
With the wave after wave of fake/false news, she didn’t know who or what to believe. Like others, Emma was constantly searching for others like her … others who lived daily in disbelief of the overnight changes facing everyone … not just in her country, but world-wide. Are we on THAT brink … could the unthought of actually happen. Emma felt she was too old for this and the return of thoughts, ideas, ideology, and outright hatred that had been put to bed 50 or 60 years ago rearing its ugly head again … this is the 21st century and she shouldn’t have to be afraid in this day and age.
No one knows how to prepare for such uncertainty … shades of Germany during the 30s and 40s. The return of the Cold War that she grew up under the shadow of constant communistic threats to destroy the world as she knew it. How could these horrors be floating in the air again after all the hard-fought battles — not necessarily combat, but battles none the less of people coming together working toward peaceful solutions rather than dropping bombs.
Rights seem to be only for those in power and the rest have none left. The word RESISTANCE is whispered over and over from mouth to ear … underground … silently between the trusted few. Now more than ever people need to individually and collectively educate themselves to the roles that society, politics, and money will play … the haves and the have-nots. RESISTANCE … the word roared in her head.
Emma knew it must happen … RESISTANCE. However, it must be done quietly, slowly, and under cover until the time came to be heard as one united front of hundreds of thousands of voices to create change. For her part, she would be the same as always, yet providing support in unknown and unseen ways to help the cause. Emma was lucky. She was considered old by some and out of touch, but she watched and listened to what could be done in small ways to help those who were young and strong … the ones who would and could lead the RESISTANCE. She would continue to be the lady on the corner taking care of homeless animals every day. Growing her small garden that would give her food should that become a future hardship. Providing a safe place to land … to hide if necessary for those who were on the front lines. A 21st century underground railroad of sorts to support in her calm, quiet, simple manner never drawing attention to herself and those she knew would come to her for help along the way.
This cold January morning felt the world shift slightly as the south winds returned to warm the day … chase away the bitter cold that held her hostage for days. Filling water bowls several times a day after breaking the inevitable ice that formed quickly in the cold. The animals and birds seemed to need more water during the bitter cold as well as extra nutrition as she upped the daily food amounts twice a day. A promise of a warm day where they could soak up the sun and warm little bodies and bones that had been cold for several day. Emma wished she could bring them all inside, but they were survivors and in her neighborhood with the many hold overs of a one time farming community there were barns and sheds and out buildings that provided safety and protection from the cold. Another sign of hope … the hawk that appeared each morning as she went about her early morning outside chores flew close as if to say, “I am here to ensure the safety of those under my domain … these sweet souls will not be attacked under my watch by other birds of prey or predators on the ground. I am here for you and all of them.”
Returning to the warmth and safety of her modest home, Emma felt a small spark of hope for the first time in months. Things would be bad, scary, and unsettled for a long long time … but like the small survivors she tended and protected, we would survive and we will overcome … let the RESISTANCE begin.
Copyright © 2017 Annie
Always…I wish you peace, joy and happiness, but most of all I wish you Love.
As Ever, Annie
Writing Outside The Lines 
Timely and well stated, Annie. The near future will be challenge enough, but the fallout will last awhile…hope it won’t be the kind of fallout we feared in the 50’s and 60’s. We still have no good plan for putting that genie back in the bottle. Hearing talk that more such weapons might be under consideration does not speak well of the brain it’s coming from. We need to be the conscience and wise counsel for the young ones who are new to the fight. I hope they will accept it.
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