New Poetry May 2016

Secrets of Kindness

It’s the light
Of eternity
Shining through
The ephemera
Other acts.

Diamonds are 
Marshmallows 
By comparison,
so indestructible 
Is it, and 
Wurtzite boron nitride
Is spiderwebs.

The difference
Between its larger and 
Smaller manifestations
Is the difference 
Between big
And little miracles:
Degrees of miraculous.

When the sun,
In its red giant phase,
Has at last incinerated
The earth, long after the
Last atoms of the human 
Race have been redistributed,
Every act of kindness 
Will mysteriously remain
To bless the cosmos,
Even that time 
You held the door open
For the guy at Starbucks.

108-Step Plan

1.
Examine the boundary 
Between you and
The myriad other beings:
The ones you know about
And the ones you’re ignorant of;
Those you love, hate,
Or are indifferent to;
Those living, dead,
And yet to be born;
As well as those real, imaginary,
And in-between.
And vow not to look away 
From that boundary
Until its true location
Is revealed
(Down the center 
Of your own heart).

2.
Vow to be 
Infinitely patient 
With the myriad others
As they also locate
The boundary,
In reasonable response
To the infinite 
Patience, it turns out,
They extended to you.

3-108.
The next 106 steps will then 
take care of themselves.