On my walks, I try to make
Each step upon the ground be
Like a gentle kiss, that I may
Remain mindful of the Earth, who
Answers me with a delicate breeze,
As if to say, ‘I love you too’.

I can't speak for the others.
I can only reflect on my own thoughts and the heat of my own discomfort.
I can't speak for the African woman who wept beside her oversized suitcases on the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow, I can only consider her tears and what they did to my own heartache.
I didn't speak, but I reached over after several minutes of communal silence and placed a man-sized tissue (clean and unused) on her lap.
Before I was back in my seat, she had taken it and covered her face in her grief and the tears came again.
The grandmother across from me got up next and placed a red stripped mint in a twist of cellophane on the woman's skirt.
The dad who stood in the doorway, like he was dressed for the beach, followed, leaving an offering of a capri-sun.
The child in the buggy looked up at his mother and she smiled encouragement to him as he offered his Spider-Man, pressing it to the woman's hand.
And as she unveiled her face and saw the offerings, she laughed, brief and wet, but with a smile that stayed. She hugged Spider-Man, nodded and then with a mother's sensibility to a child's needs, handed it back with thanks.
After a moment she found my eyes, and mimed a request for a fresh tissue and then in the silence she settled for her journey as we all looked away, dutifully silent.

I am open to receive love, kindness and compassion.

“Sticks and stones …” the familiar saying goes
but words hurled in anger
are as sharp as a needle or sword:
the pen is mightier
and can cut to the core.

So, choose the words you write with care
as the wounds from your words
can fester and scar.

Instead,
use your words to praise,
to console,
to declare your love,
for those words
are the most powerful
and feed the soul.

Corners of the heart
Where sorrow lays in blood
Loving kindness seeks

Releasing all your judgments, it’s like mopping up the floor.
You think you have it all cleaned up, but then, you notice more.

The edges and the corners, hunker down to clean.
Shine your light way down in there, to find what’s gone unseen.

Residue, flecks and dirt, from many years before.
Thriving there unnoticed, right atop the kitchen floor.

All these tiny judgements, that your ego makes for you.
Must be looked at mindfully, releasing what’s untrue.

These daily, small conclusions, that you promptly tuck away.
Building up inside you like, spiritual decay.  

Equanimity in consciousness, it’s this you will attain.
Thoughtfulness in all you do, the swamp will start to drain.

So meeting someone out there, that is living on the fringe.
Look deeply and say hi to them, removing all your cringe.

They are you and you are me, it’s this that you will see.
Spreading like a wild fire, as you remember you’re the key.

Good deeds don’t go by unnoticed,
just like a daisy,
rose,
or lotus.

I try hard to treat people with kindness,
but seldom rewarded respect or politeness.

Only the sane come back to their senses,
with an act of kindness,
your self-esteem enhances.

I’m never reluctant to lend a hand,
those in need I do understand.

People are born with tempting desires,
Love and compassion,
is what you require.

For all my sins I have remorse,
may God forgive my wicked thoughts.

If I'm to blame for what was done,
in God I trust and not someone.

I thank the lord for all his gifts,
my time on earth had passed so swift.

all the flowers bloom in spring
all the flowers bend with the wind

there’s so much beauty in those fragile things
they are living proof that being sensitive can be
all you need to feel the wholeness of your being

I buy myself flowers
and put them in a vase
I keep them close to me
as a reminder
of how soft
I can be