Dark Day – despite the sun

As I walked towards the river early yesterday morning I thought how lucky I am to be free of most responsibilities. When you’re no longer in paid work every day is like a holiday, especially when the weather is warm and sunny. As I continued along among beautiful trees, surrounded by the song of birds and cicadas I found I was feeling heavy, both physically and emotionally. A friendly fluffy dog approached me with tail wagging, and a monarch butterfly flew by, yet neither of these lifted my spirits. I looked up and saw the waning moon outlined in a clear blue sky, reminding me that there is always darkness somewhere.

Tiny moon in the sky

The date being 22 February was the reason for my heaviness. The earthquake anniversary is always a sombre time. At 12.45pm I took some flowers and went over to The Bricks beside the river, where five local people had gathered. One woman had brought a bag full of dahlia flowers which she shared. After 12.51 and some silent contemplation we each threw our flowers into the river to the disgust of the ducks who thought we may have brought treats for them. A sign on the riverbank warned the water is currently polluted and contact should be avoided.

We quietly dispersed, and after lunch on the patio I snoozed for an hour, then listened to the radio which informed me protestors and police were in a standoff outside Parliament, and Putin had moved troops into Ukraine for “peacekeeping” reasons. I longed for some encouraging news.

I’m glad the earthquake day has passed
and hope we’ll get good news at last