Hope for our future

My daughter spent much of Christmas 

 Adding stitching — magenta threads — 

To this incredible quilt. 

When I was roughly the age that she is now,

 I was teaching quilting in New Hampshire, 

But nothing I created or taught in those days 

Began to equal the creativity, playfulness, 

Technique, or design she’s showing here — 

Which is one of the reasons I still have hope 

For the future of humanity: that each generation 

Can improve upon the previous: 

Become more open and more thoughtful; 

Can devise more creative solutions; 

Can build upon the knowledge of the past 

To build a more expansive and inclusive vision 

 To enlighten generations that follow. 

Yes, I get, that, like these magenta strips, 

Our path’s neither straight nor perfect, 

But overall we are still growing, 

And for that, I’m grateful!