A Taste of Honey

It is sweet to take a breath and say yes
and it is sweet to know that children are growing

in the dark and will be brought to light in time
to cancel death’s bitter bite. It is sweet waking up safe

and sure, unafraid of what the day might
bring, such as hunger and no food to be gleaned

or thirst and no clean water. Or three hours
allotted to race the rubbled streets in search of

groceries or news of kinsmen. The icy fear
of not knowing where the next bomb will land,

who is next to be buried. It is sweet to drink gourmet
coffee in the welcomed rain, warm hands

on the cup. When you bite into an apple, it
fills your mouth just as it did your ancestors’

hundreds of years ago when they prayed
for you to come in honor of their vision.

It is sweet to take a breath
and say yes and sweeter still to hear the echo

of that yes in the eyes you meet, the smiles
you pass on the street that keep tugging

on your insides while the world has its
flirtation with pain. It is sweet to stand

in the rain and no longer feel
that there are only tears.

© 2018, Wendy Brown-Baez