Faith for the year ahead

Asked last night 

 How we thought of the year to come, 

Each person present, myself included, 

Admitted they were frightened: 

Two wars, Putin, the election, women’s rights… 

So many battles being fought and lost; 

No confidence in where the truth might lie… 

And so this morning I will strive for faith: 

Not just belief, but faith. 

Not mindless — thoughtless — optimism, 

But faith: not that all is well, 

But that somehow the arc of the future 

Bends toward justice; 

That, appalled by the dark within, 

We will learn again to love and crave the light.