To the Younger Selves

Hello I remember you well.
I greet you from the great distance you will travel.
Take heart, your climbing will result
in a breaking view you can’t yet imagine.
Be comforted. When you rise from the banquet,
the wine of life will flush you with satisfaction.

With fond affection I speak to you,
wishing to embolden your steps.
I assure you from where I stand
that your plodding with turn into flight.
I send this message to cheer and buoy you,
dear younger selves I carry still.

I watch how you fight for your idea of good
and tear your hair when what is outside
doesn’t align with what is inside you.
I feel your ferocious grappling with despair,
and I assure you that your struggle toward hope
shall succeed in shapes you will learn to recognize.

Dear selves from whom I have emerged,
I am your witness, I will not forget you.
I rise to my feet at the top of the hill
to tell you this is the beautiful journey
of the hard fruit ripening, and the thrashing labor
of our dear human species toward wisdom.

©Susa Silvermarie 2026

Giovanni Vaccari,Poeta 1862-1919.  Photo by Susa in Bassano del Grappa 2019