Too little sleep
and too much
cold and damp
has left me felling
rundown
vulnerable.

The car is acting up,
systems around the house
are not running
as smoothly
as should be
only adding
to the fatigue.

At church this morning
a baby cried
inconsolably.
She had just eaten
and probably needed to burp.

The mother rocked her
back and forth
patting her back
hoping to quiet her
though I doubt anyone
in the congregation minded.

I remembered
trying to comfort my daughters,
their heads on my shoulder
just above my heart,
swaying back and forth.

I found myself swaying
as we prayed
for the victims of shootings,
of floods,
of cancer,
of loneliness,
holding these people in my heart,
swaying.