no handbook

there’s no handbook

for any of this 

there are no hard and 

fast rules for times

like these 

you’re doing the best you can

holding things together

while the world falls apart 

in this age of fear and fret

you don’t need to be perfect; 

you just need to be gentle 

with yourself and everyone else 

because that’s all you

can really control, isn’t it? 

yes, things might unravel a

bit more before this is

all done 

you might as well

and it’s okay if 

you do 

while the world

is resetting

its router 

we can take turns

deciding who gets

to cry on the couch 

we can take turns becoming 

a balm for one another 

we can take turns yelling

up into the silent sky 

we can take turns 

having insomnia 

we can take turns being 

confessionals for one another 

we can take turns brushing

the tears off of each other’s face 

don’t worry about getting

all of this right 

you won’t 

don’t worry about making

mistakes 

you will 

~ you’re doing the best you can 

there is only one great commandment for 

enduring a storm - and it’s this: 

go easy,

my love,

go easy

--john roedel