Once I realized how small the world was
It didn’t weigh as heavily on me.
It’s so much smaller than it used to be.
And my time here is getting shorter.
I ground myself in the present moment
to keep from drifting away 
in a sea of hopelessness.

I watch my children. Sitting.
Staring into screens.
They look up occasionally to say something to me.
My thirteen year old says ‘I love Justin Trudeau.’
I ask her why?

…They have the whole world in their hands.

They know how small it is.
The other side of the globe is a thumb tap away.
They don’t know a world without this amazing technology.

They don’t know a world where the knowledge of every single thing that ever happened isn’t right there at their disposal.
They are so much more aware than I ever was.

About everything.

They know about everything.
Science. Literature. Music. Entertainment. Sex.
They know about 9/11, Columbine, Aleppo.
They know about Boko Haram, ISIS, Hitler, Westboro.
They know about Treyvon Martin, Eric Garner, Kalief Browder.
They know about Matthew Shepard, Tyler Clementi, Omar Mateen.
They know about the tyranny.
They know about the destruction.
They know about the discrimination.
They know about the hatred.
They know about the injustice.
They know about the darkness,

so they seek out the light.
They find a world that comes together after tragedy.
They find a world where people lift each other up
They find a world where people stand up for the helpless
build homes for the homeless
speak up for the voiceless
and use their privilege to empower the powerless.

My children find a world where possibilities are limitless
A world where the glass ceiling has been shattered and the closets are all door-less.
A world where a black man can be president and a woman can aspire to any office.

My children know about equality and they celebrate diversity.
My children know about compassion, and they require justice.
They see inconsistency and instead insist on fairness.
Their energy is infectious and their hopefulness is boundless.
They are coming up behind me and they are coming with correctness.
They are armed with information
and they are righteous. They are righteous.

They cut my world right down to size,
so I no longer feel the heaviness.

They raise me up. I float.
I am weightless. I am weightless.

*******