In Kind

 

a moment to be gentle

does not require harsh times

so to offer someone

or to oneself

a warm thought

 

there are many deep wells

drying in despair

that require replenishment

with the waters of charity

poured to raise the levels of empathy

and sympathy

one will not become vulnerable

sharing human weaknesses

nor troubles

 

storm clouds blacken the sky

over the canopies -

life’s fragile structures

to shield from the raging winds

that leave destruction in their wake

one need not look far for someone

who is lost in the storms

to offer a way home

for in the common community

all  have been or will be

forgotten

by excesses that exclude

 

do not be intolerant

of ideas or beings

who are unlike

as kind words are gifts

offered without self wrappings

or tied neatly with critical ribbons

 

to be in kind

allows one to be blind

to reasons or actions

that do not oblige

nor comply

nor satisfy

the image in the mirror

for that face

owns its own flaws

 

 

one need not be a one of a kind

nor aspire to be in kind

for kindness is to live

seeing oneself in the eyes

of a newborn baby

as a child’s hand - in hand

of dying loved one needing tenderness

a butterfly sitting upon a flower

 

kindness is our humanity

it is a pleasure of well being