All day it continues, each kindness reaching toward another—a stranger singing to no one ...

— from For The Sake Of Strangers by Dorianne Laux

You spent your day in hesitation, waiting for the moment when kindness might come

But what if in that waiting, you missed the opportunity to receive the grace of another's reaching out

And so, too, today brings the possibility of each of us making one small act to alter the life of another

Sing the song another might hear

for #openwrite

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/152177/for-the-sake-of-strangers

I thought you should know the first one wasn't the last one — two others arrived afterwards, all born healthy and now settling into adulthood;

the oldest, the one you knew and loved and held and hugged, a maker of documentary films and creative arts;

the middle, the one you knew was coming but could not hold on long enough to see, a weekend club DJ in New York City;

the youngest, the one you never knew but might have loved the most, a hip-hop music producer living in a college room in Boston

I thought you should know we're doing OK

for my Mom, who died at an age younger than I am right now

for #openwrite

My old classroom was drenched in cold, isolated silence;

Now I'm bathed in songs of joy rising from the playground

a Naani poem for #openwrite

How the day slides by. nearly done. watercolor spent. — poem by Tellio

Tellio, my friend, Terry, again, I'm forever thankful of the moment My quill connected with yours, for we are forEver dipping nibs of wonder into ink

a TIME acronym poem of appreciation for #OpenWrite

I relish the rhythms of the shoreline

a hunk of wood with a history all my own

By morning, I'm stranded on sand

By night, I'm on the move again

for #OpenWrite

Dawn, opens eyes with raindrops for a skirt; Monday gets dressed

A Lune poem for #OpenWrite

Paint an epiphany but leave room for wonder In the night sky, infinity paints an epiphany across a creative canvas, singing with thunder; Paint an epiphany but leave room for wonder

a Triolet for #OpenWrite

Contracts scribes spines Papyrus-pushers jaws Doors biennial false;

Refusenik for scrivening Cattle census dreary Inscrutable drawing measuring tax mechanically recording;

The silently

A Dadaist poem for #OpenWrite Source: Ancient Scribes Got Ergonomic Injuries, Too via New York Times

Why aren't we kinder? -George Saunders

Each of us, born central to the universe - our only story, separate from all that other junk — you know, other people — but we believe; we really want, in our hearts, the present moment: more open and more loving

for #OpenWrite Original text from George Saunders' “Failures of Kindness” speech https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches/failures-of-kindness-by-george-saunders

In the moment when music is made, all lights get dimmed down low

the lights are dimmed so low, all eyes are tuned to the sound

their eyes are on the sound but mine are on the mouth

my mind is on her mouth; lips, curved; tongue shadows; white teeth

lips, tongue, teeth — and words I think this is something I've once heard

I've only heard echoes before drawn by the breath of her voice

it's her voice – falling, tumbling, turning - in that moment, when music is made

for #OpenWrite inspired by Duplex by Jericho Brown https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/152729/duplex