A Glimpse of Starlight

I will fight for this year. I will not let
This murky mayhem make me forget
That this is the year of perfect vision:
This is the year of bold decision.

By fighting I mean digging my fingernails
Into all that is good in these travails;
By perfect vision I mean learning to see
Without sight, beyond sight, beyond me.

By deciding I mean laying out the facts,
And the fears, and then from all possible acts
Choosing the ones that laugh at the lightning,
Bow to the silence, face all that’s frightening.

At the end of the day, I will do the things
They will write songs about—the daring flings,
The hidden heroics, the patchwork moments
That make up history. I will make dents
In the armor of despair that declares we can’t cope.
In my smallness this year, I will fight for hope.