Storing Sunshine

Despite the shade

And the clouded skies

We found a ray of sunshine

Floating by,

And we latched onto it

Clinging tightly

As it zig zagged

Through treacherous land

And soared over raging seas,

As it tumbled down mountains

And waited out droughts,

We clung to it

With the edge of our nails

Our fingers biting,

And our minds waiting the slip,

As hands grew slick

With the sweat of persistence

We wanted it to last,

The few moments

Where the world illuminated itself

In the natural beauty

We were forced to overlook-

We forgot the haze

We were put under by media,

The constant dread

Filling our pits

And the grayness

We came to know as our reality,

We found our sunshine

And hoped we could make it last,

Canning it in jars

And hiding them away

In root cellars,

Where we counted the days

And hours

That our supplies would last-

No longer questioning the antics

Of the older generations,

Understanding arising from living-

The replay of a nation's history,

Lack of learning the only insanity-

We counted to the end-

Where we hoped another sunrise

May be awaiting us.

And this time we promised

We would make it last.

Katrina Thornley is a nature poet and novelist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!

Also, be sure to give her a follow on Instagram!