Have you ever skipped a stone across a lake,

water smooth as glass, defying the power of

gravity with every jump, even for a moment

A spontaneous celebration erupting when the

bounces reach a number even close to ‘ten’

~~~~

I doubt that the stone minds those moments

of not truly connecting to the earth. People

do, however, when they tell us something

deeply personal, and we are as

inhospitable as the water to the stone

~~~~

This, the pattern of conversation that

much of society favours, not really hearing,

and thinking about what we will say next,

rather than deeply listening, senses engaged

Either caught up on our own opinions

or worrying about how our answer will be

perceived. More about us than about the

person that we are with, if we are honest

~~~~

And we should be honest, because to be seen,

to be known, to be acknowledged, to be heard

is one of the deepest longings of the

average human heart

~~~

Creatures of community, we walk through

entire days withholding the greatest gift  

that one person can offer another

–to stop and truly listen

Senses simply and empathetically

focused on the life of another

Their needs, desires, thoughts and joys,

now valued just because another person

stopped—and heard

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2021