We have something to learn from

(the toddler who smiled

while he peeled his banana

and ate it in five bites

and gave us all high fives)

(the lady with orange glasses gray hair 

There once lived a boy who was 11 years old. His parents were never at home and they never cared about what he did. This caused him to become a spoiled kid. His name is Jordan.

A grandmother bakes

A batch of warm cookies

Peppered with butterscotch chips,

A chocolate kiss pressed in the center,

For her grandchildren

You and me, hand in hand like always. From the moment I met you, I’ve felt safe and I can’t really explain why. Maybe it’s the way your whole face smiles when I round the corner, maybe it’s the way we are always laughing.

I run and I run and I run. 

I don’t know which route to take. 

The wrong one, and I just might break.

As I stood there

Crying in the rain

I stopped and stared

At the sunset before me

My tears fell faster

As I remembered

The feel of his arms

Around me

And thought of how

Distant he’s been

There was cedar in the beginning and then there were candy canes. 

Potato soup, three ingredients but I added four 
Potatoes, cheese, broth and something a little more 
cringey action I know, confusing recipe I know 
I know.

I did not know kindness isn't always loud, 
not the grand gestures, not the 
throw-the-coat-over-a-puddle, 
because sometimes 
it is simply someone sitting on the ground 

“Lizzyyyy….,” said Marie, twisting her chair around. “I thought I told you to get new shoes,” Marie says. Lizzy looks down at her shoes, caked with dirt and grime, broken from the hours she spent working on her family’s farm.

to live is to see the sorrows of others

to long for the song of your mom

to stroke the head of your black dog

to live is to see the sorrows of others 

to greet at the sound of your father’s feet

The little boy

his little red raincoat

I remember my little purple raincoat

it used to feel so big.

His grandma

her black raincoat

trowel in hand

I remember my grandma teaching me gardens