years lost to locusts

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“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.”
- Joel 2:25
Last year, I needed a little optimism during April - so I wrote about birds.
This year, I'm feeling more reflective - so I'll write about bugs.
It's pretty stark to remember that a whole year has passed since the pandemic started. No doubt, there's also been growth and joy this year, and many have experienced immeasurably worse than I've had it. But that doesn't take away the feeling that in many ways, a year has been lost. Something that's been a little comfort, sometimes in commiserating and sometimes in inspiring has been to wade through ancestry research during the last year. Covid may be a strange and unfamiliar occurrence in our generation, but "losing years" is nothing new for our family trees. I think of ancestors who left their homes and families in order to seek a better life, I think of ancestors who were stuck in tuberculosis infirmaries, or navy boats, or remote Appalachian cabins. It reminds of that saying that loss is ubiquitous, and maybe there's some solace in knowing that?
And on the edge of loss there's always hope. In scripture God promises, that those years that have been lost to locusts, will one day be restored. I find that to be one of the most poetic sentiments in the Bible. That maybe in our life, or in the next generation, or maybe only in the life-to-come that years lost will be restored. And that's what I've tried to remember when I sweep up dead bugs and browse through census records. Absolutely no promises that any of this poetry will clearly reflect any of what I just said, we're probably not going there at all! But I do know I will be writing some bug-poems, some ancestry-poems, & some loss-poems, & maybe some faith-poems, and now you know why I'm reflecting on those things and where my head is this year for NaPo. Good luck in your own reflections and writing this April, I look forward to reading what you come up with!
- alliyah
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years found
2020 NaPo Pt I - i swear all the birds will live until the end
2020 NaPo Pt II - private reflections; cheap cheap software
2019 NaPo - love and complementary colors
2018 NaPo - heavy dreams & lofty responsibilities
2017 NaPo - a collage of mismatched contemplations
Camp NaPo - 2017 logbook, 2020 logbook
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