[2021-01-21] There is always light
One of the beautiful things about art is that it can mean different things to different people. It mingles with our own fears, hopes and desires to become something different from what the creator intended. Something more than, as I have grown fond of saying.
That's how I felt yesterday when listening to American poet laureate Amanda Gorman recite her poem The Hill We Climb at the inauguration of US President Joe Biden. Gorman's poem, which she said was completed on January 6 and was influenced by the events on Capitol Hill that day, speaks to both the literal and figurative hills we climb.
I was particularly touched by this portion:
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
This before-and-after characterization echoes my own feelings about ovarian cancer. When the doctor uttered those fateful words "You have ovarian cancer," I did wonder whether I could possibly prevail over that catastrophe. Now, almost six months later, I feel more than ever as though I will prevail.
Similarly I was stirred by this section of the poem:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
What an elegant reminder for anyone who has grieved, hurt or tired of a particular fight. Gorman reminds us that in grief, there is growth. In hurt, there is hope. In fatigue, there is pride in having tried.
Finally, I was moved by Gorman's opening and closing lines:
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade? ...
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
If only we're brave enough to see it
If only we're brave enough to be it
As one form of shade, a life-threatening illness has the power to engender fear, to dash hope and to become larger than life. But Gorman reminds us that we can step out of the shade if we are brave enough to see the light and brave enough to be it.
