Separating the chaff from the grain ​by Gordon Magill July 2020

Separating the chaff from the grain ​−

What do the times teach? What is this travail about, this pain?

What do we glean, what does it mean

What loss, what gain?

that those who should know are in doubt; those who don’t know are full of authority;

that some politicians will sell out the people in the darkest of times; that the lonely road is a long road without friends for company; that the solitary face staring out the window may be our own; that gazing out is the same as gazing in ​−​ there is no “other” anymore;

that all that you’ve worked for can be lost in a heartbeat; that living in the car, clothes in bags and windows blacked out, can start at the next red light; that a house doesn’t need bars and razor wire to feel like a prison;

that the yearning for touch becomes a gnawing hunger; that in dreams, the faces of far-away loved ones look at us longingly;

that all that we were a part of is become a fading memory; that how we love is integral to who we are; that protecting and teaching our children is the main thing; that every poem and song about being truly human is right; that it’s not too late to reach out and say what’s in your heart; that it’s not too far gone to write that poem or song; that hope is still strong if it’s morning and the sun is rising; that maybe we will know what really matters when we come through; that darkness, fear, pain will have taught us to separate the chaff from the grain.