blessed are the joy finders, the joy sharers, the joy tenders
blessed are the workers, the strikers, the organizers bending toward collective justice, and survival
blessed are the mask makers, the mask wearers
blessed are those forgoing convenience and excess for someone else’s survival
blessed are the governors, and mayors, and legislators laboring for public health and collective life over profit, ego, and the deadly demands of gun-toting, terror-mongering, evil-doers
blessed are the essential workers—yes, yes, the healthcare workers, sanitation workers, grocery store workers, mail carriers, farm workers—and also, blessed are these essential workers—the poets still feeling, dreamers still imagining, teachers still sparking curiosity, students still soaking up and sharing wisdom, care givers still caring, journalists still investigating and reporting
blessed are the music makers, art makers, word makers, meaning makers
blessed are the imams, the rabbis, the pastors, the chaplains, the spirit seekers ministering and tending and holding
blessed are the baby plants, just in in my garden, reaching for the sun on this cold, grey, rainy day
blessed are the letter writers, the card senders
blessed are you, sheltering in place
blessed are you, locked in place
blessed are you, without a safe place
blessed are you in your tears, your prayers, your fears
blessed are you every moment you choose tenderness, softness, gentleness, care
blessed are you still savoring delights when and where they are offered, and found
blessed are you in your grieving, your losing, your mourning
blessed are you in your living, your loving
blessed are you in your fearing, your dying
blessed are you
blessed are you
blessed are we
– Rev. Anna Blaedel, enfleshed