B is for Broken by Beauty

         (If you’re waiting for April to officially begin the April A to Z Blog Challenge, don’t mind me!  I’m just getting a head start.

You can read my Theme Reveal Post here, and when April comes I’ll direct you to the correct letter every day.)

        My A to Z Blog Challenge theme this year is Bittersweetness & Light, my new collection of hope-filled, joy-inducing short stories, poems, and art.

        “Broken by Beauty” is one of the poems in the book, and today I’ll simply post the entire thing.

     It is possible

On a night of snow

When porch lights make yellow diamonds

Of fat cold flakes spangling the twigs,

Spangling the luminous blue silence,

To be broken by beauty.

     To be broken open

Like an alabaster egg in April,

Hatching forth to giggling white blossoms

Scenting every incredulous bird-song breath

Of air turned giddy with life;

Hatching like front doors 

Scattering their people to the sidewalks.

     It is possible

On a red-gold afternoon

When every maple impersonates chrysanthemums,

Flinging implausible color to the piercing freshness of the sky,

And the festive crinkle of fallen applause to those who drag their feet,

To be broken by beauty.

     To be broken open

Like a dry crack in crumbling earth

Unfolding to fertile black beneath an impetuous rain,

Exhaling mud-scented breath to grateful leaves

That dance like sparkling children in the sprinkler;

Unfolding like frail smiles

Fluttering along the check-out line.

     It is all possible.

        Some other B words that have to do with my project are of course the Book itself, Bittersweetness & Light, the Kickstarter Backers whose support made it possible, and the Bad News that skews our perception of the world.  This poem is a reminder that even though bad news grabs all our attention (in part because we’re actually hard-wired to pay more attention to it), it really is only one part of what’s going on in the world.

        Marketing Moral: Are you boycotting Amazon?  Indie bookstores are unlikely to stock a little-known book like this, but they will usually special-order it for you if you ask.  (Bittersweetness & Light is also at Barnes & Noble if you find them less offensive, or available directly from me if you don’t mind paying for shipping.)

        Proper Moral:  It is all possible.  Don’t ever let that Bad News convince you to give up on the Good stuff.

        How much time do you spend doom-scrolling because you want to be a conscientious, informed citizen of the world?  Have you ever considered spending an equal amount of time being conscientiously informed about positive things?

[Picture: Snowflakes, rubber block prints, and Leaves, digital by AEGNydam from Bittersweetness & Light, 2025 (See NydamPrints.com).]