Up-hill all the way

 

Two posts in one month is unusual. But as I look back at my hopeful words for 2021, I am dismayed that they already seem to be unraveling. These are heavy days, and the weather outside seems to speak all I need to say.

Outside my window, large heavy flakes are falling from a low, gray sky. There is beauty and there is darkness.

I found this poem today. It's about two travelers, one weary and anxious, the other weary and confident. 

The first traveler asks all the questions: 

Is it going to be hard like this the whole way? What happens when it gets dark? Is there a place we can rest? What if we miss it? What if they don't let us in? What should we do when we get there? Will there be comfort?

The second one has the answers. But they are not sunny answers. They are real answers:

The journey is up-hill all the way. It will last the whole day. But, there is a resting place; you can't miss it. And others will be there too. You won't be kept waiting; there's room for everyone. 

I suppose you could read this poem a number of ways. Maybe the road is life and the inn is death, our final rest. A little cliché, but okay.

Today, when I read the poem, though, I thought of all of us. Weary of this recent road, our tally of woes may be different, but we're all lugging them around with us as we plod uphill--it's been a hard year. A hard year. A hard new year.

One foot in front of the other.

I am both these travelers--weary and hopeful. Anxious and confident. I imagine you are, too.

There is one thing not open to interpretation in Rosetti's lines, however. There are two speakers. Two friends. Two on a hard journey together. Why does that matter, you ask?

Well, from a technical standpoint, this is really unusual for a poem. A poem has one speaker. It's introspective and usually spirals in before it spirals back out again. 

Not this poem. This poem presses at convention, reminding us what is possible when we walk the up-hill road together, being honest with one another. I want that so badly for my faith community and for our nation. I imagine you do, too.