there is space here
enough for me
enough for you
if you’re kind, thoughtful
and respectful; we have room.
you don’t have to be beautiful
or conform to notions of who you should be
so long as others’ genuine needs
are okay with you,
too.
poem- picking light August 30, 2019
For Jordie
She sees it on the floor
reaches for the white spot:
light.
Three times the lights calls her.
Three times she reaches.
Three times she rolls her eyes.
She doesn’t need to pick up light,
it already glows within her,
touches everyone she knows.
Her light is kindness;
it’s overflowing,
and dripping on her floor.
poem- beautiful September 29, 2016
Astonished eyes
Gushing mouths
They say, “You’re so beautiful.”
Compliments deserve courtesy
“Thank you.”
Warm smile.
Their words are bees,
around a flower.
Droning pleasantries.
You are the only one
who needs to say the line,
and you
do not.
What is beauty?
What fear lies beneath refusal
to see it?
What interpretation of honesty
forces you to decline
to observe it?
poem-touch June 20, 2016
Today
you touched someone,
Caressed pain away
with a kind word,
a warm embrace,
a sincere smile.
Today
you didn’t even know
the comfort that
trailed behind you
as you walked by.
Poem- GRATITUDE April 9, 2016
It is lonely
Seeing ghosts of wagging tails
Dancing feet and twinkling eyes.
To remember joy made physical
Only because of my existence.
It is lonely
To catch the movements
From the corners of my eyes
Of furry bodies no longer present.
Grief is a hard, hard, hard burden.
But you,
Are lighter without the responsibility
Lighter with the freedom
Lighter from the consequences.
Lighter with the isolation
That is not loneliness to you.
But oh,
It is to me,
And my heavy heart struggles
With this burden of grief.
Knowing you. Knowing me.
Knowing the sacrifice you make
To bring some relief from grief,
To bring me a piece of joy again,
Wagging on the tip
of a tiny tail.
2016/04/08
poem-enough October 3, 2015
Sometimes
your discomforts must be faced;
you must force yourself to offer kindness,
look directly at weakness,
sit,
listen,
show love,
whether you really feel it or not,
because it has been shown to you
and your humanity demands
reciprocity.
poem-weak February 2, 2015
Is it because
you can not bear your own weaknesses
that you are so angry
faced with others’ weakness?
In your fervent effort
to do what must be done,
do you not see your heart?
What are you afraid
we will see, in your weakness?
Vulnerability is beautiful.
Vulnerability expands
your universe.
Don’t be afraid
to be kind to yourself,
and kind to others.
We are all weak once
in a while.
poem-gifts October 23, 2013
She held out
her insecurities
cupped in her hands
and asked him
for reassurance,
but he just looked down
his nose at her
silent
.
He had no
kind word
to give,
no kind heart.
.
And so she stood
face upturned in
silent misery
and held tight to
the gift
of isolation.
entrepreneur support June 11, 2013
My father never
passed a kid’s lemonade stand
without buying joy.
.
.
(Having taken Food Safe, I confess that I am not as generous with stands, but I’m always good for several boxes of Girl Guide cookies, which makes little girls just as insanely happy as the lemonade entrepreneurs were left by my dad). 😉
Shawn L. Bird 