From
a word or glimpse,
captured surreptitiously across a crowded mall,
a story’s seed is planted.
It grows in form and substance,
consciously and subconsciously,
while personal gifts and personal items
are sought out, encountered, and purchased.

Then,
a day or a year or a lifetime later,
a story flows,
ripened word after ripened word,
from mouth or pen or keyboard,
on its journey,
through ears and eyes,
on the way to
enrich a
soul.