can an empty plate be a gift
to the young mouths
and empty stomachs
waiting for elusive food?
can a broken doll’s remaining head
pacify an orphan
after a destructive bomb
snatched her parents?
can an old, tattered blanket
warm up a homeless
sleeping naked
under the frozen rain?
can my hands and yours,
can my smile and yours,
be the calm,
be the balm,
of the wounds inflicted
by hate,
by war,
by injustices,
created by our co-humans?
maybe.
one heart at a time.
—