My Dreams, My Works, Must Wait Till After Hell, by Gwendolyn Brooks

I hold my honey and I store my bread

In little jars and cabinets of my will.

I label clearly, and each latch and lid

I bid, Be firm till I return from hell.

I am very hungry. I am incomplete.

And none can tell when I may dine again.

No man can give me any word but Wait,

The puny light. I keep eyes pointed in;

Hoping that, when the devil days of my hurt

Drag out to their last dregs and I resume

On such legs as are left me, in such heart

As I can manage, remember to go home,

My taste will not have turned insensitive

To honey and bread old purity could love.

Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community.

Seed Questions for Reflection

What do you make of the nudge to protect ourselves from insensitivity to goodness when in the midst of difficult times? Can you share a personal story of a time you kept your eyes pointed in while in the midst of great travails outside? What helps you protect your taste from becoming numb to goodness?

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Add Your Reflection

7 Past Reflections

Fiona

Nov 12, 2025

Such a touching poem. Since I’m in a period that I recognize as my work and familiar struggle into my shadows it is timely to remember what I can lean into when darkness creeps in. They are always times when my home and foundation feel unstable. I have had to start over and move so many times. Finances, keeping up, keeping my body moving and healthy through aging, worried about when I won’t be able to keep the place I call home, all these problems, fears and frustrations seem always in the background and sometimes in the foreground. And, I am resilient. I have choices to make, intuition to lean into, guides to consult, friends and family to plan strategy with. Even while I take my moment to be with all of it, knowing I will lift back up into the light with a new perspective, a shift of possibility in my future (because I’ve always proven to myself that I can) this darkness serves a purpose. I become more balanced in light and dark. I have more clarity about the process and am... View full comment

Mavis

Nov 11, 2025

Quaker meeting does this for me. This is a positive silence awaiting for guidance and peace

LianneHolloway

Nov 11, 2025

Gratitude for having come through the many many hard times that once beset this mixed race foster child born during segregation. I have seen hope rise and get dashed, good men cut down by bullets of hatred and progress resisted by those who fear the gains of others may mean losses for them. But overall I always remember the wise advice that "the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice," and I celebrate gains made as I continue to move toward a future I believe will ultimately be better.

Catherine Todd Nov 11, 2025

Thank you LianneHolloway for your comment. I am reading it over and over again and hope it is all true. Gracias, Amen, mi amiga. Abrazos Grande! ("Big Hugs")

David Doane

Nov 9, 2025

Sometimes when in the difficult it seems too dangerous to let out the honey and bread for fear it/I will be dismissed or destroyed. Sometimes I currently become so caught up in the catastrophes in our government and country that I don't see there is also good around me, and then something is said or done that flips me, points my eyes at what's good. Last night I was at a dinner with people I didn't know and they were very welcoming, kind, generous and caring, all of which reminded met that there are good people and there is good happening in the midst of great travails outside. What helps me protect my taste from becoming numb to goodness is being with people doing good, seeing that there are a lot of good people, seeing the positive and not only the negative, and being what I consider good and right myself.

Jagdish P Dave

Nov 8, 2025

We all go through light and darkness, ups and downs in our life. Sometimes ups are long and sometimes they are short. I have learnt from my own experiences that most of my ups and downs are caused by me and not to point my fingers towards me and others in my life. I have learnt that when you point one finger toward the other person four fingers are pointed towards you.
There are ups and downs in my life. Life is not a straight line. Life is not always smooth. I have learnt to keep my eyes open so that I don't hurt myself and others in my life.
I have learnt to keep my eyes open in the journey of my life so that I do not create suffering in my life and in the lives of others. Daily practice of mindfulness meditation has helped me walk on the right path. In the quiet and compassionate state of my mind I see the light within that helps me take right choices.
May we all make right choices and walk on the wholesome path of wellness.
Namaste!
Jagdish P Dave

aj Nov 12, 2025

The Best is yet to come … as Heaven awaits all who believe. In Him there is no darkness!