As I walked the streets In a city
I hardly remember home
Didn’t feel like home.
I was reaching for kindness Only to cower
In the face
Of what I perceived to be beyond me
but now I realize
In this mirror
faces differ
but pain does not
loss does not
love does not
I mustered the courage to hold open the door for
Patrons and passerbys
As we wandered
Listening to the ramblings of junkies and peddlers
that take cash or cigarettes huddled under awnings Together
Trying to stay dry
It was the rain that brought us together.

We are continuing our “Poems for the Summer.” If you do not have a copy of my book, “a slow and sudden God: 40 years of wonder,” please pick one up.