Welcome 2026

The Calm Before

Tonight the sky put on her Sunday best,

Cotton-candy clouds and honeyed gold,

Like she didn’t hear the whispers

Of sleet sharpening its teeth for morning.

The sun dipped low, slow as a farewell hug,

Painting peace across the holler,

And if you didn’t know better

You’d swear nothing bad ever finds beauty.

But tomorrow...

Tomorrow comes heavy.

Ice on the lines, snow in the ditches,

Four or five days of the world holding its breath,

Bracing for the crack and the break

And the way silence can turn loud real quick.

Funny thing is;

That’s how my life used to be.

Pretty sunsets fooling folks into thinking

I was fine,

When storms were already packing their bags inside me.

I lived waiting on the other shoe,

Flinching at stillness,

Because calm felt like a lie I hadn’t earned yet.

Peace was too quiet.

Too exposed.

But not anymore.

Now I stand on the porch and watch the sky blush,

Tea gone cold in my hand,

And I don’t beg the storm to pass me by.

I tip my head, say yes ma’am,

And welcome it like an old lesson returning.

Because chaos don’t scare me.

I’ve danced with it.

I’ve survived it.

And these days,

I don’t need destruction to feel alive;

But I sure do appreciate the reminder

Of how strong I’ve become.

Calm is beautiful,

But it ain’t always comforting

When you’re raised in the thunder.

So let the ice come.

Let the world rattle awhile.

I’ll be right here...

Rooted, ready.

Wrapped in grace and grit,

Watching another sunset

And knowing, for once,

The storm don’t own me anymore.