image by grisbonn1974, on Pixabay, modified
A Matter of Faith
“What strength do I have left, that I should wait [and hope]?
And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient and endure?” (Job 6:11)
The world resumes its never-ending wars
without a plan for peaceful resolution.
Our city is a bastion of the entitled, who
use othering as their cause and their weapon.
Compared to those in the line of fire,
we realize how little our problems are.
But what if the battle is being waged
by forces beyond what we can see?
Long-suffering is when such forces strive
to kill the light, and we choose to stand firm.
This is the struggle to overcome despair!
It requires inner strength and infinite joy,
and faith in the glory of the light.
*
40 Days
for the Storm Prediction Center
It was the darkest winter in seventy-three years. Wiarton Willie didn’t see his shadow
on February 2nd. The scientific precision of a groundhog weather forecast is as difficult
to prove as any other. But we were told to expect an early spring.
Between the death of several friends, the disconnect between where my life is and where
I thought it would be, and the darkness of these times, I was trapped in spiritual shackles which could not be unlocked by flipping the page of a calendar.
Then, it snowed. It snowed half a winter’s worth in 10 days. The groundhog continued
hibernating. And then, it snowed again. I sought shelter from the storms.
Under the cover of sunless days, in the self-absorption of bitterness, I found another layer
to explore, and digging through this brought me relief.
I discovered joy is not the realization of happiness. Joy is in the anticipation, the
expectation. By this we make it through the winter.
Patrick Connors’ first chapbook, Scarborough Songs, was released in 2013 (Lyricalmyrical Press) and charted on the Toronto Poetry Map. He also has a full-length collection, The Other Life (Mosaic Press, 2021) and a new chapbook, Worth the Wait (Cactus Press, 2023). Other publication credits include: The Toronto Quarterly; Spadina Literary Review; Sharing Spaces; Tamaracks;
and Tending the Fire. You can connect with him on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patjtconnors/
March 2024 issue