Thursday, November 10, 2016

Small Things Are the Stuff of Life

Dedicated to Carol Welch
Published in Branches Magazine, September/October 2016 and Finalist in Pride in Poetry contest, Dec. 2016, published in Sometime Anyway by NavWorks Press, Jan. 2017

Americans are vibrant blocks in a living
quilt, shades and hues
shapes and sizes, stitched together
into a colorful, cohesive Picasso.

But, the media divides and separates
like Playtex Living Bras.
In their eyes, homogenous and harmonious
quilts are a non-story.

Long-nosed puppets, politicians
over-promise, under-deliver.
You and I have to make
our own peace with one another.

Formulas are a mirage,
but consider Rumi’s words:
“… learn to speak by listening.”
People feel valued when heard,

even when disagreeing.
Pay others this compliment.
Kindness, in all forms, wings
its way back to the giver.
  
Imagine not rushing past the woman
in the wheelchair exiting 
your next meeting. Walk beside
her, instead, and converse on topic.

You’ll get home 10 minutes later,
but well done! Instead of dodging
steel and wheels, you respected someone.
And don’t forget 

to notice the gratitude
in the elderly gentleman’s eyes
while holding the door for him. That cane
is hard to maneuver!

So, no emoting lack of time
or reciting beliefs
or mouthing "I'm in"—
put some skin into it!

Denise C. Buschmann

April 13, 2016

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