Today I am giving up judgement

Poem by Dana Smith

It drops but not like a knife skittering across the kitchen floor…
The faces across from me: wind- bitten, old and close
as mountain streams bloom in the rose steam
of Hibiscus tea. I wonder how I hadn’t noticed their beauty
in just this way before. Even the dog on its hind legs
is not begging, or being shushed aside. No word of shame
interrupts our silence. What flowers is as fresh as quince
after frost, its bud clear as a drop of rain. Without striving.
Why hadn’t I dropped these judgements a lifetime ago?

Or even last week? Did I need to become so sick
of my old way of life? Like that night when I found the waterfall
frozen in solid waves. Too wide to jump. No other path
down the mountain. Chance had to be seized with both hands, 
Just like the grace of feeling one’s way… on my knees…
the free-fall of love into this new way of walking. 

This poem was written after ‘Another day of epiphanies and blessings while sitting in Exeter’s Quaker Social Cafe. The cafe had its last opening for the season on 30 March. Exeter Friends have served a warm welcome of conversation, puzzles and knitting, soup, tea and biscuits for these last six months. With special thanks to the hosts Alison and Ian Mitchell.’

---

Comments

Please login to add a comment