A GOOD DEED

I went out to dinner tonight. On my way out the door, I grabbed my cane and my purse. My destination was Fudrucker’’s. I had a craving for a hamburger and their spicy fries.

I walked up to the counter to place my order, only then realizing I couldn’t find my debit card. It wasn’t in the pocket of my purse where I normally keep it.

I checked other pockets. I found other things, including a debit card that was no longer valid. But I came up short when I needed to pay for dinner.

I apologized to the cashier, and started to leave. I was thinking of returning once I found the card. Just as I left the restaurant, the woman who had been serving me ran out calling my name.

The manager, she said, wanted to pay for my dinner. I’m a regular at Fudrucker’s, so they know me by name and by sight. I thought about refusing the generous offer to pay for my dinner, but decided to accept it.

It was on my way home that I began to think about good deeds. When should we offer to do them? When should we accept them from others? I’m the first to admit that I can be stubbornly independent: I prefer to be self-reliant, take care of myself, and not be beholden to others for favors. But there’s something to be said for allowing good deeds to be done. For me, in this instance, perhaps the lesson is meant to be humility--I'm not meant to be an island unto myself. For the manager who paid for my dinner, perhaps the lesson is charity.

I still believe in independence≤, but perhaps I need to allow strangers into my life to offer their random acts of kindness. And who am I to deny someone else the good feeling of doing something for me?

Copyright (c) 2010 by the author

TOUCH

She says: touch

Without consent

Equals disturbance.

She says: touch

Without love

Is meaningless.

She says: touch

Without permission,

Is simple assault

She says: touch

With malice

Is always a threat.

She says: touch

Without invitation

Implies control.

A woman’s body

Includes the bubble,

Safe distance between her and the world.

Don’t touch

With intent,

Don’t touch

Without invitation

Don’t touch

Unless touched.

The rules

Are simple enough.

Copyright (c) 2010 by the author

DARK HOURS

The dark hours--

After night falls/

Before dawn breaks--

The volume of the world

Is turned down,

And I can hear

The crickets outside

My window, and the hum

Of a freeway a mile away.

A dog barks at shadows.

This is as close as a city

Can come

To silence.

Copyright (c) 2010 by the author

SING HER SILENT

SING

Her silent,

Mother with child.

It’s enough

That you worry.

You don’t need

Her tears

To drown you

And your hopes.

You don’t khnow

The judge’s mind.

You don’t speak his language

You speak Spanish,

And he

Speaks Legal

When he’s on the bench,

American Legal.

Sing

Her silent,

Mute your daughter’s

Please, please.

Outside this door

You worry,

Whileinside,

I work--

Work within earshot

Of you,

Of her,

Of laws

I didn’t write,

You didn’t write,

that spin

Worlds on their axes.

Your song,

I don’t know the words,

But their intent,

By your voice,

Are meant

To breathe peace

Over a child’s eyes,

Sand man of another language,

Do your duty.

Sounds of sorrow,

Sounds of fear

Dwindling

Down to

Silence

As another day’s

Work begins,

Rending lives

From their temporary place.

Laws of motion send souls

Spinning off the surface

Where seeds

Had been planted,

Harveste

Had been anticipated.

Sing her silent.

Copyright (c) 2010 by the author

AUDACITY

To reach/

To strive/

To try to touch

Calls for bravery,

Calls for desire.

The raindrop on the tongue,

While the rest of the body is washed,

The penny that landsface up--

Meaning good luck for the finder.

The hand that itches to hold

The money.

We reach/

We seek/

We want/

We drink

The rain drop by drop--

Sky purified..

Copyright (c) 2010 by the author

RECONCILIATION

While the body rests,

Repairs are made

After yet another day

Of life’s abuses,

The mind must consolidate

What it has gained,

Versus what it has lost,

And while it balances its books,

It entertains itself with our dreams:

Sometimes it makes sense

Of the actions and responses

We experienced,

But sometimes there are

No reasons for what flits across

The inner screen.

While the movie plays,

Everything we learned

Is set against everything

We forgot.

And when it’s done,

It’s time

For another day

To begin.

All accounts

Are balanced

And ready for

Debits and credits.

(c) 201010 by the author

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