Let the light of kindness
shine upon us all
now in the low time of the sun’s angle
when momentary gleams offer
bittersweet awareness —
a few bright leaves among the bare branches
lit up against the dark clouds

Let kindness be the warmth
upon the tangled coil
of hunching inward against the cold,
let it glow upon
the laughter stretched too thin
to counter tension

At the touch of kindness
we can uncurl,
stretch out the places that were cramped and pained,
open outward into the comfort
of seeing there’s a place for us again

And as we are kind,
we will feel the flow of golden,
spreading richly through our limbs,
suffusing skin,
promising sustenance
lasting through winter’s chill
bringing us supple
into spring’s sweet rays.

©Wendy Mulhern
November 17, 2016