Ruth Kueny / Abundance Jar

RUTH KUENY, AGE 13
While some may fill their jars to the brim
With fleeting joys
Like walking in the city late at night
Or biting into a melty and rich freshly-baked cookie
Or rereading a favorite book
The flicker of light brought by these is not dependable
What happens when there is no city to walk in
Not a freshly-baked cookie to bite into
Nor a book to reread?
Like fireflies, they flash bright and then disappear
Their sparkle of joy seemingly vanished.
My jar occasionally gathers dust from neglect
The lid loosens with yelling and fighting.
The light seems to leak with insecurity.
The body cracks with stress.
And then I remember what I keep in my jar
I like to fill my jar with the moon, the weather, the stars, the clouds.
The sky.
When the moon shines bright and illuminates everything with an ethereal glow
When the beautiful spattering of the Milky Way is thrown across the night sky
When the clouds form animals and bound across the sky, dancing with the wind
When the thunder rocks you to sleep, humming its deep lullaby
When the sprinkling of rain decides to pour until your clothes are sodden and your spirits light
When you take a moment to appreciate the sky
To appreciate the filled canvas that the earth paints every day
To appreciate that as the atmosphere reflects blue, we can reflect on the sky too
To appreciate that not every day is perfect and sunny, and sometimes the most beautiful moments are in the rain.
That is my jar
And any time the light dims and the dust collects,
I look to the sky
And the dim light brightens
Radiating its warmth and light
Showering everything with warmth
And I have my own star
Ruth Kueny
Ruth (Kueny) is an 8th-grade Decorah Middle School student who enjoys many activities, such as running, playing guitar, playing basketball, drawing, and reading.
Editor’s Note: We created Future Focused, a new Inspire(d) column written by pre-teens and teens, to help give the next generation an opportunity to share their voices. Partnering with Dana Hogan, the Extended Learning Program teacher at Decorah Middle School, we offered prompts around the idea of abundance for this issue (and Dana had the genius idea of a metaphorical “Abundance Jar”). Students submitted some really great work, and five were chosen for this Inspire(d). Check out the rest of them, and all the Future Focused submissions published so far! Here’s to Listening to the Next Generation!
– Inspire(d) Editor-in-Chief Aryn Henning Nichols