Sometimes, beauty or a touching moment surpasses our ability to describe it. Think of a child’s birth, his playful innocence, or just a smile.
Music does this, too. Gustav Mahler, a composer of grand symphonies, said, “If a composer could say what he had to say in words, he would not bother trying to say it in music.”
And yet, occasionally, we find words that bring us very close to the tender or the overwhelming. Here is such a one, a poem beyond words, though made of them.
I hope you enjoy it. Watch and listen or read:
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.”
Danusha Laméris — From her website: https://www.danushalameris.com/
Her first book, The Moons of August (2014), was chosen by Naomi Shihab Nye as the winner of the Autumn House Press Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the Milt Kessler Book Award.
Her second book, Bonfire Opera, (University of Pittsburgh Press, Pitt Poetry Series), was a finalist for the 2021 Paterson Poetry Award and recipient of the 2021 Northern California Book Award in Poetry.
Her third and newest collection, Blade by Blade (2024) is now available through Copper Canyon Press.
Danusha is currently on the faculty of Pacific University’s low residency MFA program.
ah, dr stein. i like your hat. i also love your profile pic — looks like it might have been taken a few years ago. bless you.
I do like fedoras, Susan. The photo was taken just after I found an ancient youth-preservative requiring daily bathing in prune juice. I recommend it! Thank you for your blessing — really.
Beautiful thoughts, yes, I believe that most of us want to live in harmony with our family, our friends, our communities and with strangers. Fewer know how to do so selflessly, and only the very few wish harmony to others, yet we get bombarded with messages that tell us others are out to get us, so we forget that it’s actually most of us that want harmony.
Part of the problem, IMHO, Tamara, is how insecure and afraid the human race becomes under pressure. Repeatedly, history tells us this. The solution? To put a target on those who are different rather than try to understand them. Thank you for your always thoughtful comments
Just to make my response to you clear, Tamara. I meant that the pressured humans put a target on those who are different. A more than unfortunate tendency.
very beautiful words –
Glad you liked it, Beth. Thanks for reading it.
That was a wonderful poem, and Helena Bonham Carter read it perfectly.
Very glad you enjoyed it, Edward. Carter does lots of video readings, as you might know.
Actually, I’ve never heard her read a poem before, but after this, I’ll definitely watch more of her videos. Thank you for sharing.
I am glad to hear I was able to offer something unfamiliar to you, Edward. You seem to be a man who is open and discerning.
Thank you very much for your kind words, Dr. Stein. I’m doing my best to understand the world and appreciate its richness.
What a poetic gem, Dr. Stein! The small kindnesses I receive are a blessing in this harsh world. Thanks for sharing and for this introduction to Danusha Lameris. I’ve added her latest poetry collection to my To Read List.
Wonderful, Rosaliene. Knowing your love of poetry makes me especially pleased you liked it.Thanks!
I love this phrase…”Only these brief moments of exchange”. Magic can come in small packages, tiny moments. Thank you, Dr. Stein. 💕
You are welcome, Vicki. Your comments are always worthwhile. I am grateful!
Oh, this is so beautiful! I love “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.”
What if? Thanks for the inspiration, Dr. Stein!
Thank you, Wynne. I thought that line might touch you. Glad it did. I’ll bet it reached out to many, myself included.