In the Absence of Kindness
In the absence of kindness
Take one deep breath
And then let it go
Into the heat of confusion
Or an echoless emptiness
Where it may be swallowed up
Like a dove in a black hole
Listen as it coos gently in the dark
The next breath may disorient you
That’s a good sign
Go ahead
Lose your way
Your point
Your imitation
Of someone you don’t even
Recognize now
You’ve made a U-turn
And like a boomerang
Being struck by lightning
Random acts of kindness
Now seem as natural
As being breathed into Self
That One who has forgiven
Any part of the whole that
Might have believed
You were not enough
- Fran Carbonaro