way of hoping

anxious to have hope

but knowing how little my concept

of me

stacks up against what matters

to what is

perhaps i might try to see me as part

of the whole rather than

particle

thread

there is a whole, a vastness

that encompasses what we can know

only in part as it exists on a scale

beyond out comprehension

a pattern, a tessellation, a tapestry

that we—weak, small, limited, mortal

as we are—yet remain a part of

a segment of a thread

that contributes to the design

and the entirety

crash-scatter what we crave

blunder through life

crashing through the underbrush

of surroundings and interactions

scattering the beings that breathe

in courage and accomplishment

all around us without our knowing

unless we can quiet our frantic pace

to listen and watch

the beauty and joy of which we

are already a part

by the Pacific

dozens of people on the sand

walking, standing looking out

pondering the expanse of ocean

each feeling alone

caught in time

an infinitesimal part

of a greatness no one

can comprehend

wander quiet paths

wander quiet paths

know what you are a part of

hear life around you