Tenderness
June 27, 2020
It’s at times of real difficulty, stress or heartache that we often see the greatest amounts of kindness and tenderness that any one human being is capable of giving or sharing.
In all of the sadness, struggle and deep despair that is being caused by the devastation of this awful virus and the impact on those infected and challenged by it, we’ve seen a huge outpouring of incredible human values where people that flow with human compassion and tenderness are doing everything they possibly can, to ease the pain and discomfort that others feel.
We can’t truly know or express happiness at a time when we witness and are surrounded by the open suffering of others in our lives and in our world. We are all keeping our own counsel on how much life is changing day to day and the roles that we are taking on as a result.
One thing is for sure though, no matter what is going on in our external surroundings, we can all keep a significant amount of tenderness in our hearts with the knowledge that it can and will bring comfort to somebody somewhere.
I wrote this poem a long time ago at a time when I desperately needed the unreserved tenderness of another human being, to help me through a really difficult time.
The one thing that always struck me about this coming together of one human offering their self so selflessly to another is that for me, ‘hope’ became the most stalwart force.
I hope you find tenderness where and when you most greatly need it.
Tenderness
Soft words are all you’ve spoken
Settled them like pearls
on a neck
of frozen vocables
Were you hoping
to quench the mouth
that is dry from crying?
Soft sentiments are all you’ve delivered
Dropped them
like wish-stones
into the deep well of healing psyche
Were you aiming
to trace the soul
that’s suspended in searching?
Soft heart-lines are all you’ve restored
Orchestrated them
like Neptune’s
wave-laps of recovery
Were you aiming
to free the shelled hope
that is set to cultivate?
- Maria Cairnie
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