Contemplation with Poetry: ‘Small Kindnesses’

[Painting: A Day of Celebration by Fanny Brate]

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.”

-x-

Analysis: I stumbled upon this lovely poem being read by the phenomenal Helena Bonham Carter. The poem is such a balm for the soul, reflecting upon the inherent goodness within each of us. No one wants to be rude or cruel. We all seek to be the best version of ourselves where possible. The prose-poetry format adds to the everyday-ness of the poem and reiterates the underlying message. I was particularly moved by the line highlighting the distance we now have between people. Ironically living in a hyper-connected world, we are the least connected we have ever been as a community. So, to be reminded through this poem that your single “thank you” or smile could be the only real human connection someone could experience makes our little efforts so much more meaningful. At the same time, to be on the receiving end of such little joys makes life worth living.