In Friendship's Garden

How to Befriend Uncertainty* by Prartho Sereno

Come sit in the seat by the window—

near the birds who have shaken off their dreams and opened themselves

to this never-to-be-again day.

Today we won’t be asked to bumble along the beaten byways, for Uncertainty is our houseguest. Put on the water,

set out the homemade jam.

Uncertainty will listen with us

as our bagels pop from the toaster’s dark mouth and the coffee grounds weep their bittersweet sobs.

Uncertainty is Mystery’s love child--

no history, no proper name—

but she has always been with us.

She is the one who wakes us

to drizzle new questions into our day,

new stories, new colors and light.

The wind is her breath.

Her body is the water

we bathe in and drink.

Uncertainty, with her barefoot-dancing gypsy soul

knows the unpaved roads

to gratitude by heart.

But of certain things—like tomorrow—

she knows nothing.

And because of this,

her love knows no bounds.

* first published in the anthology PANDEMIC PUZZLE POEMS, 2021, Blue Light Press