I’m keeping things short this week, since I’m lacking motivation and optimism.

Part of my problem, I think, is that I’ve elected to read some pretty heavy stuff lately. I bought a poetry book called Milk and Honey (2015) in the bookstore on St. Thomas. It attracted me for the simplicity of the cover, the author’s name (whom I had heard of) and the short poems contained within.

I read the poetry book on St. Thomas in its entirety – on the beach. But, the poems were largely about sexual and domestic abuse. I was disturbed, even though by the time the book ended, the author had seemed to make peace with it.

Yesterday, out of the blue, I read a lengthy piece in The New Yorker about Alice Munro and the sexual abuse of one of her daughters. It was horrifying. Thank God, I never read Munro, who was a Nobel Laureate. I surely never will now. (I know that her life informed her stories but it’s the fact she never stopped the abuse and seemed to side with the abuser, in my opinion). As they say, you can’t make this stuff up (and who would want to?).

The upshot? It’s all depressed me.

I’ve always been an advocate for children. When I was a nationally certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, I worked mostly with indigent children and families – from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to the West Side’s Roberto Clemente Clinic in Buffalo. I’m not a stranger to these horrific tales due to my work history.

But, reading the atrocities afflicted on our youngest members of society has pushed me into a funk, especially when the Munro story has many similarities to what we hear today – of victims being blamed and those with guilt never being held accountable – of people in high places doing nothing. The problem is minimized or ignored. There is evil in our world and the stories keep repeating.

Wednesday, I felt I had a revelation regarding my writing on the way home from the dentist. But, now it seems to have a shadow cast over it. For me, 2026 might be one of change – and great celebration – or of moving on as I reduce (my OLW) my load – both literally and figurately.

Today’s round up is brought to us by Margaret Simon at her blog Reflections on the Tech, which can be found, here. Thanks for hosting Margaret.

My Medium writing slowed during vacation but I was able to pull this article together yesterday. I am sharing with a friend link (hopefully, it works).

View at Medium.com

Finally, I’m participating in the 100 Day Project, inspired by what our fellow poet Tricia Stohr Hunt has done. Our hobbies are different (other than writing) but we both seem to need to create. You can follow me on Instagram if you want to see what I’m up to – just let me know who you are if your username is not readily recognizable (mine is carollabuz), so I can approve you.

Note: the haiku regarding my dad was written earlier this week, a day after the one year mark of his passing. The hibiscus is from his yard – he loved yard work and was proud of the hibiscus when it bloomed.