A Stranger’s Smile
It followed me out a store one day,
still haunts with its starkness and force.
Another lifted my spirits as I waited
on a train platform. The bearer wore
a khaki suit and a straw hat trimmed in blue.
The exchange is a fragrant bouquet, soul food,
a needed breeze, answered prayers.
Shellshocked in a safe way—I’m touched
by a presence that transcends past and future.
In lockstep with wonder, I’m energized,
changed by a sudden simple gift.