Sometimes, Kindness
is a stone we carry
a stone that has long drifted down
to the bottom of our bag
beneath the phone with its musical insistence
the morning latte receipts
the makeup bag and money clip
we have held it long enough
and the desperate hour is alive in the world
reach down and retrieve the stone
from its linty kingdom
and hand it to someone
freely
saying
here put this in your pocket
let your fingers play
over its crystalline heart
on days when heart
is absent from humanity
or the overwhelm of struggle
is almost too much to bear
let it be a soothing
a kinship of earthly graces
a lantern against the dimming
12 thoughts on "Sometimes, Kindness"
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I needed this today- thank you for sharing it. Especially love:
‘let it be a soothing
a kinship of earthly graces’
perfect for this moment
Beautiful. Soothing, lyrical.
Beautiful- we both had kindness on our radar today!
This provided such a calming visual from the initial “a stone that has long drifted down to the bottom of our bag” to the ending, “a lantern against the dimming.”
As smooth as that stone I’m about to put in my pocket! Thanks, Sylvia.
I love the directive tone of “let your fingers play/over its crystalline heart…”
The words truly flow and sing together here. I adore the sentiment of this and how you’ve expressed it so tenderly.
Love it. Especially “the desperate hour is alive in the world” – beautiful.
love the sound and sense of “the overwhelm of struggle”
A true gem.
Love the call to action:
we have held it long enough
and the desperate hour is alive in the world
reach down and retrieve the stone
from its linty kingdom
and hand it to someone
freely
Beautiful, Sylvia
Beautiful! I love: “the overwhelm of struggle.”