Yesterday, Gentle Reader, I was sharing some of my poetry with a good friend. This morning I was, again, reading some of my poems and I decided to share two with you today. The first poem emerged into my consciousness in 2010 and the second in 2020.
CHARACTER COUNTS!
- Care what motivates me
- Hospitality, what welcomes you
- Altruism, what transcends us
- Responsibility, what challenges me
- Awareness, what disturbs me
- Compassion, what touches you
- Tolerance, what honors you
- Empathy, what connects us
- Reconciliation, what heals us
- Contentment, what nurtures peace
- Openness, what connects hearts
- Understanding, what opens possibility
- Needs, what stimulates us
- Trust, what frames us
- Sacred, what defines us
SILENCE – WORDS
SILENCE
- He could sit in silence for hours, not meditating but listening.
- He would inhale the words of others as if they were the very breath of life.
- He would take on the countenance of one who was inviting them to speak – and speak they did.
- He would gently lean in toward the speaker reinforcing his listening with attention and interest.
- He would encourage others to speak by offering them an invitational nod and welcoming smile – and speak they did.
- He would, like all great conductors, use his body as a baton and direct the speakers as if they were musicians in an orchestra – they followed his lead and spoke on cue.
WORDS
- He could speak for hours, not conversing but expounding about himself.
- He would respond to a personal inquiry, ‘How Are You,’ with a verbal litany that ran longer than the Nile River.
- He would not invite, he would declare with the surety of the Pope when speaking ex cathedra.
- He would assume the posture of the master not the conductor – he had become the orchestra and the director.
- He was, indeed, like all of us, a living paradox… Excuse me, someone is asking me, ‘How Are You?’ I will be back in a bit.
- ….
Searcher-Seeker 