Though all we’ve got is grit and spit

we can still build good things—

still weave nets to catch each other

nests to welcome and warm

strengthen ties like flexing muscle, 

tougher each time.

Though all we’ve got is pluck and muck

we can still grow good things—

still plant seeds of justice

nurture hothouse passions

prune our dying branches,

to make way for spring.

Though all we’ve got is earth and breath

and blood and sweat—

That is all that we need.

Elizabeth Beck is an island writer who likes to share scratched-out and blacked-over words. A deep love for the South Sound Region is only exceeded by her passion to expose the immense talent found there. Her poetry and short stories have been featured at WRIST Magazine, Underneath the Juniper Tree, The Laureate Listening Project, The Washington State and Gig Harbor History Museums, TAM, The Washington State Department of Commerce, and glimpsed floating down storm drains.