Eight billion people woke up
on Earth this morning.
Of those, let’s make
a conservative estimate
that 80 million of them—
let’s call them something catchy
like, “the one percent” –
did something wonderful.
Some planted trees.
Some taught children to read.
Some baked bread.
Some prayed for peace.
Some performed brain surgery.
Some even wrote poems.
You may want more specific
details – the who what, when,
where, why and how.
But I can’t answer those questions
because stories like that, well,
they just don’t sell newspapers.
They are simply the stories you
have to search for on your own,
because they’re the stories
that make all the news
that’s fit to print,
bearable.
Gloria Heffernan’s Exploring Poetry of Presence (Back Porch Productions) won the CNY Book Award for Nonfiction. Her collection Fused will be published by Shanti Arts Books in 2025. She wrote the collections, What the Gratitude List Said to the Bucket List, (NYQ Books) and Peregrinatio: Poems for Antarctica (Kelsay Books).