Feeling Good Vibes from a Trip to Austin

“Checking in with these dear people was like living in a lucid dream.” Poetry by Ernie McCray

I woke up this morning
feeling a little down
in reaction
to all the madness in the country
that’s going down
and then as I gasped for refreshing air
to bring an end to my despair,
my mind, to my delight,
took me back to a week ago
when I was in Austin
enjoying car rides
that took me through
a neighborhood
in which my sweetheart, Maria,
once lived
and through the grandeur of the
city’s downtown
and along lovely
rolling hills
that exposed exquisite panoramic views
and along the way
I caught glimpses of
people boating
and paddleboarding
peacefully
on the surface of gentle flowing streams,
and I’m fondly remembering
the local cuisine,
featuring a variety of ethnic foods
that were fit for a king or a queen,
and I got to spend time
with one of my granddaughters
and her dear man
and three of my great-grandchildren
who made me feel pride
in how they seem to be up on things,
able to make their way,
despite what’s happening
in the good old USA,
and on another day
I relaxed in the company of
a beautiful woman
I’ve known since we were in fourth grade
and her husband,
listening to her take on things,
realizing that she’s still the girl I knew
when we were but young things,
involved in school politics,
our hearts ringing with promise
so eager to make our voices heard,
trying to honor Paul Laurence Dunbar School,
Tucson’s colored school’s motto:
“Be the Best,”
and then
on a warm and charming evening
we took in Austin’s dynamic music scene
with a couple of Maria’s cousins
and their wives,
beautiful loving and caring human beings
who, among a number of things,
lend a hand to indigenous folks
as they continually struggle to maintain their dignity and sovereignty
in a land
that’s made them jump through gargantuan sized hoops
to realize what should be theirs rightfully,
for centuries
 
Checking in with these dear people
was like living in a lucid dream.
And just thinking about them
and Austin,
in these moments,
reinvigorates my idea
that hope,
in this troubled world,
is still in our reach -
if we stay the course
in trying to right the wrongs
in our country.
 
I think I’ll
try my best to go with this vibe for a while
during these troubled times
of fear and doubt,
as a little recess
from wanting to scream my heart out.
 
But I know that the truth is,
without a doubt,
we’ll have to attack the lunacy
with the intensity
of a firefighter trying to put
an inferno out.
 
It won’t be easy
but I’ve got my hose out.

Ernie McCray is an activist for love and peace who acts and sings and writes both poetry and prose, a man who rises each day to do whatever he can, no matter how small or grand, to make the world better in some way.

Unapologetically.