Let’s Be Gentle

Sitting in a bus and staring at dozens of uptight faces,

That looked deeply anxious with unresting glances.

Sensing an epiphany so profound and so pure,

I pinched myself so strongly just to make sure.

Opposite me sat a woman of seventy,

Full of blissful and benevolent beauty,

Making me wonder how fortunate she must be,

To look so utterly vibrant and sufficiently healthy.

When our eyes met only for a split second,

I finally knew my new ability in its actuality.

Flashes of life events fabricated I reckoned,

Giving me an insight into the woman’s shocking reality.

Soaking in sadness and mourning over her childhood friend’s recent demise,

Worrying about her aging body’s flare-up of agonies that are king-size,

Dealing with her alcoholic son’s dwindling marriage life’s final days,

She just sat there opposite me with the energizing aura that she unfailingly portrayed.

Looking around me and deciphering the stories behind similar faces,

Finding in them the most consistent truth, full of scars, wounds, and agony,

I was infused with a magical feeling of oneness that I’d forever embrace,

I closed my eyes and thanked my unforgettable epiphany.

So,

Let’s be gentle,

Let’s not frown,

Let’s smile more,

Let’s not rage anymore,

Let’s help,

Let’s not deceive,

Let’s be compassionate,

Let’s not be crooked,

Let’s hug often,

Let’s hold hands,

Let’s not backstab,

Let’s emit positivity,

Let’s omit negativity,

Let’s empathize with each and every one,

Let’s not patronize,

Let’s be kind,

Let’s be gentle to everyone that’s living,

Let’s be ever so gentle as we need it now like never before in the earth’s making.

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