Featured Poem: Trails of Kindness

By Megha Sood
Member-at-large

 

 

I count the years as I walk past the trees lining my courtyard,

counting them one by one neatly on my soft supple fingers.

 

The mighty oak has weathered worse and still nests

sparrows. The jasmine tree, whose flower-laden shoots

 

smile through their fragrant arms wave me goodbye,

their warm presence deeply carried by the northern winds.

 

Even with a slight opening in my kitchen window, they can make their presence felt.

What more is to this life than to count joys and blessings in the crawling lines

 

of my mint plant? That is growing and spilling joy in all directions, the new tender leaves of Basil, twinkling and shining through the sliver of the sunlight.

 

Warm supple hands of my succulents holding water as kindness in their thick leaves remind me of the frail hands of granny combing my hair and making trails of kindness.

 

Reminding me always that kindness is a necessary gesture of acceptance,

like the puny sapling breaking through the crumbling earth

 

as it finds hope and grows through pain.

7 comments

  1. Claire Massey says:

    Such beautiful images in this poem, nature as vessels for kindness.
    Claire Massey
    NLAPW Poetry Editor

  2. Kate Clare Wegrzyn says:

    Megha Sood, Your exquisite Poem is a delightful invitation into a sensory stroll, breathing in aromas, touching, embracing each unveiling of Nature’s Bounty with Gratitude. Kindly Kate

  3. Andrea Walker, Pensacola branch says:

    Lovely images and sentiments. I especially like still nests sparrows, fragrant arms, and holding water as kindness. Thank you for this gentle poem.

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