gracevine

wandering down the
             aisles at the store,
          looking for what i
          couldn't remember,
      an old friend bumped
      into me, excitement
             on her face as she
             told me about
          the son (who
          everyone had told her
          for years would turn out
                no good) had been accepted
       into med school;

the little boy edged up
                  closer to me
          on the park bench,
    something enclosed
    in his cupped palms,
             and he whispered
         'want to see something
                     wonderful?'
    and when i nodded,
    he opened his hands
          and we both laughed as the
                butterfly
      floated away;

the buzzer rang and when I went
       to the church door, they were there
               again, and as
          i opened the door ready
          to tell them there was
                    no help for them today,
    they both broke into big grins, and tumbling
    their sentences over each other's,
              told of the new jobs, new apartment,
          new life, and then,
                    as they turned to go,
       handed me an envelope,
    'share this hope with the next
                           person.'

joy, wonder, hope, laugher, peace,
all the gifts of God
       are around us in every moment,
    through every day. How do i know?

i heard it through the
                               gracevine.

© 2013 Thom M. Shuman