Blessed Calamity by mythsteps published on 2024-03-03T17:10:22Z BLESSED CALAMITY Consider the blessings of calamity: For years I dashed here and there in a rabbit’s hurry refusing to listen to the voice saying “stop”. As a result I eventually tripped myself up. But the hard landing woke me to my blindness— I realized I’d raced to escape my anxiety. Before the fall I’d imagined myself to be a lucky soul protected by an umbrella held by the gods. But now I knew the secret: I’d always feared the sky might suddenly fall on my head. Good to finally see the truth. But I missed my false courage. Before, I’d felt too anxious to stop but now, I felt too anxious to step. Fortunately last week another blessed calamity came to put the spur to me: a star crashed and burned my backyard black. Having frozen my legs I nearly lost my toes in the blaze. No, we can’t avoid life’s hazards. Okay okay, I cried, I’ll go forward. Someone much wiser than I once said: When the risk of necessary change seems unbearably scary consider the risk of letting your north star fall down in flames. Genre poetry