In the Beginning

The texture of the air was unnaturally heavy,
laced with dust from the wildfires
in far-away Alberta, and we—
we lumbered through chores,
pushing the sheep aside to muck
their stalls, bleating back at them
as if they could understand our angst.
Outside the barn, the smoke
clogged our lungs, reminded us
of the scathing ways humans treat
other humans. But inside the barn,
in the sweet fragrance of hay and manure,
we sat with kids just learning
to ruminate, chewing our jeans
as they waited for their bottles,
and remembered that the world
was created to be good.
In the beginning  …

“In the Beginning” Copyright © 2025 by Carole Johannsen ’86 M.Div. With permission by the author.