Kindness spanned
And reached beyond its bounds To some of those people Whom the king had forbidden. You know the sort You see loafing and lying about the depot station: Dirty draggs Of filthy ragged stench. And yet there it was As I descended from the train On the Fourth of July, A young couple With scarcely enough clothes for one Between the two. They sat on the lawn awaiting the show, The woman leaning back into the man, His arm draped over her In that sweet protective way A man does with his cherished, And her leaning into him for shelter Her heart so obviously knit to his. And the sun was setting behind them And it was beautiful. I saw it again the other day When I passed the shelter, From a man selling his wares Of black and white. When I declined, He tried to bum a cigarette I didn’t have. And then for an instant He dropped the show And he turned as I walked away And said, “That’s ok. You have a good day.” And I said the same. And there was a kindness. For sure it is out, For it can be seen everywhere now, In the soup line And at the charity center And in the faces of such a variety of others That I cannot distinguish "my own" anymore, For I am persuaded beyond reason That they are all mine. |