The quieter times-

 

when dew runs the length

of a spider’s web

as eight legs work to wrap a fly for safekeeping,

 

when an old dog still raises his head for

his owner and they press gentler than they used to,

 

when two faces are open to each other

and their eyes cross the divide unclouded

 

when a child locks in the last piece

of a jigsaw and their smile

purifies the surrounding air,

 

when looking at the expanse

of the sky doesn’t offer fear

but comfort,

 

when the soul seeks solace

and finds it

in music,

 

when under the ocean

you feel it crashing

yet hear nothing,

 

when thoughts

are just thoughts

and can be brushed away

by the touch of a kind hand,

 

when on the grass

and it puts maps on your skin

an ant climbs and traces the roads

and you let it pass,

 

when you see virtue in someone

who doesn’t see it in themselves

but trusts you

when you softly convince them,

 

when you understand you may be different

and you can’t please everyone

but aren’t afraid to write it down,

 

when it doesn’t matter what time it is

when it doesn’t matter what you look like

when it doesn’t matter what you wear

when it doesn’t matter what you do

when it doesn’t matter where you go

when it doesn’t matter what you think

or say

 

-are the ones I wish for.