Photo: Valario Davis on Unsplash
“So how do you,” he asked,
“Know good
From bad?”
“By the heart,” she replied.
“By the actions that
Build
And prop up,
And the words that
Support
And patch the
Cracked places
Inside broken parts.”
“And how,” he pressed,
“Do you know what
Just needs
Giving up?”
“By the soul,”
She patted the warm place
On her lap.
“For breath
Matters,
And hope
Matters,
And kindness
Is superior to any
Pass-by-night
Emperors
Full of promises
Of might,
Touted
For our good
But seeped in
Falsehood meant
To bring on
Plight.”
He shuddered
And she stroked his wet cheek
And held a cool
Palm to his brow.
“Now sleep,
And let spirits
Of light,
Hold back the bad
And
Fill your cup
With good
Till the world grows
Up.”
Na'ama Yehuda 
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Perdection
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Thank you. May we all demand more heart, less harm.
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I would not want to be a parent answering questions from small children these days. Good write, Na’ama.
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Thank you. And … yes, there are very difficult conversations taking place. May we do better by these kids than what the world had with their parents. We owe them this much.
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Thanks for joining our prompt today. I do hope the world grows up, but one wonders. Good thing the children can’t read the news. 😉
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The children often SEE the news these days … which is not particularly helpful … BUT, yes, we have to find the balance between protecting the children and speaking truth to children and not keeping them blind to the realities around them while also not scaring them or overwhelming them in the process.
Oy, the tightropes!
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That’s beautiful 🙂
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Thank you, Crispina. There is a lot of fodder for these things these days …
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Yea, isn’t there just. Interesting days; we ought to soak it all up, it’ll not come again. Fingers crossed, clasp that rabbit’s paw, where’s the 4-leaf clover, and let’s add a prayer to be sure
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Soaking it all up is almost impossible to avoid given how saturating the anguish currently is, with the protests and those who are fueling division and adding to the fires. Then again, there were always those vested in diverting crises to their own benefit and to amplify, rather than soothe, hate and fear. Certainly interesting days. As the Chinese curse of “May you live in interesting times” goes … this period of time is a full-on manifestation …Oy.
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Well said and summed up
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xo
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This was perfection, Na’ama.
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Thank you, Dale.
May there be healing and less pain, and a calming hand to offer solace to those who need it.
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Yes. May there be…
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xoxo
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Beautiful! What a scary and unsettling time it must be for children at the moment.
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Scary and unsettling for many an adult, as well, especially as we understand the very possible worsening realities given current bad leadership that seeks to inflame rather than calm … Oy. That said, the world CAN grow up, and people CAN speak up civilly (and in their election ballots …), and together, we can do more good, for the good of all of us, not just the benefit of the few.
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I firmly believe this too. I can’t really believe the situation we find ourselves in at the moment with the leadership we have, change must happen and I hope that change is on its way.
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Amen, and indeed, and we can each do our part the best we can, with the most kindness we can find within us as we do it.
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