In just a few days August 2026 will be in the books.
No nuclear war, no shadows burned onto the walls of a house that tried to keep a routine without any humans.
But there has been poetry. And rain.
Raise your hand if you understood the allusion I used for my introduction. Nice! Yes, I referenced Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains.” Which officially took place on August 4, 2026, in California.
I’m sitting in the middle of Nebraska and have washed the dishes by hand. Earlier today we vacuumed and dusted by hand. But I have read poetry. And last week it rained every day for four days.
Sadly, there is war in the world. Planes are flying overhead and so are missiles and drones. And poets are writing poetry about it.
If you are a faithful reader you know that I am participating in the Sealey Challenge; reading a book of poetry a day for the month of August. I have read a wide range of styles, topics, and even time periods. And something that has saddened me is how many poets have dealt with issues we deal with today. And not just war, broken families, drugs, and prejudice.
There are poems written in every generation that could pass for a modern poem. A reader would assume it is about the state of the world today if I didn’t tell them the time period it was written in.
But what gives me hope is the power of the human spirit to create art during troubling times. Yes, poetry, but all forms of art. I don’t know if we can finally learn from our history, but art will record it. Will give us avenues to discuss the hurt and share the hope that we will be better. The human heart may have a shadow to it, but creativity is the light that illuminates the corners and shows us the way.
It is all Connected 