When All Else Fails, There Is Something
that will bring you light.
It may seem obvious;
well, it is obvious—the purple and green
cabbages the neighbor planted to survive the cold.
The purple and green cabbages they planted
because nothing else can withstand
the freezing rain.
When you’re full of angst, when you’re
standing at what looks like the edge
of disaster, stare out
into the freezing rain—
see if you can see the purple and green.
And if you can’t, or
are somehow reading this, instead,
which indeed you are:
They’re alive!,
the purple and green cabbages,
somewhere out in the icy cold—
Ahrend Torrey is the author of Running Among the Trees—New & Selected Poems (2026). His works often explore the connection between humanity and the natural world, themes of LGBTQ+ identity, hope, and the global climate crisis. He is a recipient of the Etruscan Prize awarded by Etruscan Press, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize multiple times. His individual poems have appeared in journals such as the Denver Quarterly; Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature; storySouth; The Greensboro Review; and West Trade Review, among others.
Amethyst Review 