Kindness The Poem

Sharing the wise words of many people who walk this Earth that has touched me in these years of living. The remarkable poem Kindness, by Naomi Shyhab Nye touches beyond the ordinary senses. Put to the music track Golden River by Higher calling music. Enjoy the playlist of Healing Earth Prayers on my Profile page.

Transcript

Before you know what kindness really is,

You must lose things.

Feel the future dissolve in a moment,

Like salt in a weakened broth.

What you held in your hand,

What you counted and carefully saved,

All this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness.

How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop,

The passengers eating mayes and chicken will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,

You must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road.

You must see how this could be you,

How he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,

You must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.

You must wake up with sorrow.

You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,

Only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread,

Only kindness that raises its head from the crowd of the world to say,

It is I you have been looking for and then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend.

This is the poem Kindness written in 1995 by Naomi Shihab Nye.

She gives her voice to her experience as an Arab American through poems about heritage and peace that overflow with a humanitarian spirit.

I hope you have enjoyed these words and these collection of words that have touched me over the years.

I have gathered them here together as healing earth prayers,

Beautiful gifts from a treasury of earth's many peoples.

We hope they touch your heart and renew your spirit living in these times of dire beauty.

Reviews

Very good poem Mr. Fung. I was wondering if you could make more lofi music free instead of plus. Sending love xo, nabi 🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋😌☺️💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤

Hermoso, gracias 🙏

“Living in these times of dire beauty “ thank you from the bottom of my soul for this . So grateful to have found it ..tears streamed from my eyes like the sounds of the river in the background. This should be taught in school.💜Kindness 💫 🙏

“Living in these times of dire beauty”…. Thank you again Marcus this was uncommonly beautiful. And I love that you’re sharing Naomi’s words. Bless you.
(2 years later— still loving this. Maybe even more. Thank you Marcus.)

These words touch me as well, thank you for sharing.

I really liked the poem and am curious to know the author. I know you mentioned the author at the end of the poem but I was yawning and didn't hear it. My suggestion would be to write it in the description. Namaste 🙏

A beautiful gift! Thank you for sharing this eye-opening poem! A better understanding for sorrow.

Oh, how reverent Naomi's words are, and how your partnership allowed them to nestle in our hearts--thank you, Marcus

Powerful poem. I liked your clear, soulful voice and pacing. Thank you for sharing this poem and author. 🙏💜✨

Lovely poem and beautifully read, Marcus. Thank you for sharing. 💙💜💙

Word's or pure wisdom thanks Marcus for sharing Annette x

These words were so beautiful to hear in the morning. Thank you for sharing. Wow 😯

It touched me so deeply, that I cried, and cried....

This is by far one of the most touching poems I have heard. I find kindness a tough subject to embrace through poetry as it often feels trite or like an abstraction difficult to make concrete. This one, truly touched me in more ways than I can articulate at this moment. I listened to it once in bed, and once outside under a tree while collecting kindling to build a fire. Thank you Marcus for softening my day.