Jennifer L. Freed: Even in Unkind Times
I just saw her last summer, sat two rows behind her
on a folding chair. Stared at the knobs of spine
protruding from beneath her tied-back hair
James Crews: The Slightest Kindness
We were walking the icy streets,
talking about the ways our country
has betrayed us again—promises
unkept, laws broken beyond repair.
Barbara Crooker: When I Gave Away My Tent
…some protection from sun, snow, rain in this, the very imperfect
twenty-first century where working two jobs isn’t enough to get
an apartment in a country where too much is not enough.
Matthew J. Parker: How Courage, Kindness, and Creative Iconoclasm Can Counter the Tramp of Fascist Feet
I’m alarmed by this new wave of attacks on our institutions.
Octavia E. Butler: Kindness eases change / Love quiets fear
In order to rise from its own ashes, a Phoenix first must burn.
Kim Stafford: Four Poems
Her text says the bombing is getting
closer. She dozes, there’s a blast, a rattle
of debris falling somewhere near. She says
every bomb makes an earthquake. Her heart
stops. She says the forces are getting closer.
Abe Louise Young: Calling from the Homeless Camp
On Tenderness, Expulsion and Mutual Aid
Michael Simms: Jubilate
Now I shall praise our dog Josie
the bodhisattva of our household
the perfect embodiment
of devotion, always present
in spontaneous awe
Liza M. Hinchey: How small acts of kindness and connection really can change the world, according to research
Research shows that individual acts of kindness and connection can have a real impact on global change when these acts are collective.
Video: Naomi Shihab Nye reads her poem Gate A-4
I heard an announcement:
“If anyone in the vicinity of Gate A-4 understands any Arabic, please
come to the gate immediately.”
Barbara Crooker: Queens
Wielding her cane
like a weapon, she pushed pedestrians out of the way,
held it up like a banner as we crossed against the light.
Desne A. Crossley: Old Fist, Daniel and My Mom
Beneath the mildly disruptive playfulness, he was a bright kid waiting to be encouraged.
GEORGE YANCY: How Can Philosophy Speak to a World in Crisis? The Answer May Lie in Our Bodies
Whether we are ill, depressed, anxious, suffering from injustice, a refugee, incarcerated — having contact with beauty can lift our spirits, rehumanizing us.
Stephen Haven: Iowa City, 1983
I remember best the cartography of each failed kindness…
