Today marks the close of one of the most challenging years in recent memory. For those of us who endured this year, 2020 will forever be used as a signet and a metaphor for all things pernicious and inconvenient. At the same time we bid adieu to 2020, we look forward to the promise of 2021 and restorative work before us. Join us in that endeavor as we strive to rebuild our World better than ever.
Below is one of Walt Whitman’s better known poems, “I Hear America Singing” and it reminds us how resilient we are as humans.
“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe
and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work or leaves off
work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the
deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing
as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the
morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,
or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each sings what belongs to him or her and to no one else,
The day what belongs to the day — at night the party of young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.”
“I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman
Happy New Year, All!