28 January 2025

In our deepest January

 

source

In our deepest January
deportations begin—
no rest or peace of mind
for refugees and immigrants.
Storm troopers raid without warning
sweeping foreigners out.
 
In our deepest January
snow falls, fires rage, war kills.
We call on the singed and scarred earth
to heal broken fabric.
Mother, we pray, “Help us
own this, restore, and recover!”
 
Earth seems silent, but small tendrils
poke through the debris, and
some of us look for shoots
of diversity to weave in
among green hope. Others
do business as usual.
 
In our deepest January
the clocks turn back to some
of the wickedest moments in
human memory, though
more moments need memory, and
all humans need deep love.


 For Sherry's prompt "In your deepest January" at What's Going On? 


My blog poems are rough drafts.
Please respect my copyright.
© 2025 Susan L. Chast


9 comments:

  1. Mary1/28/2025 1:12 PM

    You have characterized this particular January so very well. The coldness of the deportations, the fires, the wars. This January really has brought little that is good to this world. But we can keep watch for those shoots of diversity, hoping they too will not disappear. Really a moving poem!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sherry Blue Sky1/28/2025 2:31 PM

    Yes. So hard to live through what is so fundamentally wrong. They even tried to deport NAVAJO PEOPLE. Good grief. So hard to be put on a plane to go you know not where with only the clothes on your back. And people in Gaza are returning to a land of rocks. God weeps. A poem title just popped into my head: This Once Was a Garden.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rajani1/28/2025 9:31 PM

    If only we tried to understand why there is illegal migration, who is responsible and how the source can be fixed, instead of the plight of the suffering becoming a political tool. Sigh. All I see is a world imploding :(

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sumana Roy1/29/2025 2:57 AM

    I absolutely agree with what Rajani says. The trouble-root should be weeded out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sherry Blue Sky1/29/2025 11:06 AM

    I agree too. There are always reasons why people flee oppressive and dangerous regimes. Ha, Canada might start seeing political refugess from the US soon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kim M. Russell1/29/2025 12:09 PM

    What can I say, Susan, your poem strikes fear in my bones and sadness in my heart. The USA was always a safe place for immigrants and refugees. I wonder if the snow and fires are warnings from above. The final stanza sums it up so well. With so many people moving to Canada, The Handmaid's Tale comes to mind.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fireblossom1/29/2025 3:33 PM

    The center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. And the worst part? The voting public put this idiot psychopath and his sycophants in power.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jae Rose1/29/2025 7:32 PM

    So beautifully expressed - almost belies the terror we face

    ReplyDelete
  9. Truedessa1/29/2025 9:54 PM

    In our deepest January it has not been a good month! But, your poem certainly touches on all the chaos.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)