we are here
making one another
better
we are compelled
to stretch farther
than we are used to,
we bend at
unfamiliar angles,
we struggle to give
with vulnerable
generosity,
we open ourselves
to warmth
to wounds
we try to trust
that we will
find gentleness
in the honesty
that in the alchemy
of our anger, our fear,
our love
we will create
a salve
to heal us
we will find
in one another
what we need
to thrive.