Art by Kenard Pak
Small Kindnesses by Danusha Laméris
I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk
down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs
to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”
when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.
And sometimes, when you spill lemons
from your grocery bag, someone else will help you
pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.
We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile
at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress
to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder,
and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.
We have so little of each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these
fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,
have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first,” “I like your hat.”
Other poems I read last week:
"Every day I will give you a color,
like a new flower in a bud vase
on your desk. Every day
I will paint you, as women
color each other with henna
on hands and on feet." -from Colors Passing Through Us by Marge Piercy
"It comes
Unadorned
Like a phrase
Strong enough to cast a spell;
It comes
Unbidden,
Like the turn of sun through hills
Or stars in wheels of song.
The jeweled feet of women dance the earth.
Arousing it to spring.
Shoulders broad as a road bend to share the weight of years.
Profiles breach the distance and lean
Toward an ordinary kiss.
Bliss.
It comes naked into the world like a charm."
-It comes unadorned by Toni Morrison
"I hear my lover speaking to me on the phone
and a poem can sweep away the sinking fear:
a silence thickened into a wall of stone
in an empty house where I go to bed alone."
-from When You Wait for Love by Joshua E. Borgmann
"Maybe one body is simply insufficient.
So they change their minds and decide
to stand by one another’s side for years.
They bring flowers and carpet and children
into the act. They refuse to move, ever.
They act as if they’ve found the only hospitable
spot on earth. I love it when they do that." -from Love, with Trees and Lightning by Catie Rosemurgy
Recommended Listening:
Relaxing the Over-Controller by Tara Brach
Playing the Piano - Ryuichi Sakamoto Forever - Night Tapes What is the last sound you wish to hear before you die? My Last Sound | Yoko Sen
Links of the Week:
Somnath Pal’s journey of self-discovery through animated short film, Death Of A Father
Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens? (full power to this woman!)
The Amazon rainforest fires are still burning: What's happening and how you can help
I've been doing a whole lot of binge watching of late. I was particularly moved by the second season of Mind Hunter and When They See Us. Recommended watching!
Also, tomorrow is the last day for Indian musicians/bands between the ages 18-29 to apply for the Toto Music Award and stand a chance to win Rs 60,000. Apply now!
Instagram lovin':
Max Siedentopf (swipe right to see what he does to passport photos!)
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
reminder: it’s about time you start getting what you want!
-Rohini