Tradewinds

I live in a world divided 

But I know a house divided against itself cannot stand 

And as I stand, ununified, undecided 

I have a choice to either stand my ground or fall 

To look dead at the problems at hand 

With wisdom, or ignore them, in my downfall 

They told me to write about what I want but

What if in my looking for my dreams I only felt further away from them,

Because knowing what I can’t have is like a cut

That I try, and I try to heal but it never closes

I try to add it up but my parts do not equal the sum

I cannot count them like petals on roses

Some of the problems I see are grand 

In a world bisected by dangerous ideas 

They burn through me like fire, one in my right and one in my left hand

I’m told to calm down, to sit and be quiet

But this girl’s ideas are all that she is 

I will see through the blindfold, no matter how tight you tie it

Is it too much to ask to simply talk about what I see?

Too much to step inside my head for a second, to hear the world as I do?

I’ve been left alone on a ship too far out to sea

Won’t you come row with me for a minute before the tides tear us apart?

We can tell stories of the seas before you bid me adieu 

As you sail away, I must confess I do not know where I am, I must check my chart

And so here I am, waiting for the winds to change 

Waiting to find a safe harbor

I have sailed through water clear and calm, dark and strange 

My sail may be in tatters, but only because I have survived the high storm winds  

One day, I want to shed my battered and dented armor 

And revel in the beauty of my scars of many kinds 

Lindsay (Lin) Baker ‘24