part three....

she's 75. and i knew from her socks,
i liked her.

we talked. she and her friend.
me and mine.

same cancers. or close enough, i spose.
she's a veteran. been thru it all for
seven years.

seven years.

i can't even imagine.

and there she sat....
smiling, gracious, kind, loving and warm.

i watched her.
wondering about her.
finding myself wanting to know how she felt
about things. was she scared. what did she
feel way down deep.

i didn't ask.

it wasn't mine to touch.

but as i sat there, i held her in my heart
real deep. and i cared a lot about how she
was doing.

we left first.

i went over to her.
reached for her hand as she reached for mine.
held hers for a moment.

it couldn't just be a 'see ya later' for me.
but what could i do?

i just looked her in the eyes and wished her
well. but i so so so meant it.

she looked in mine and thanked me for my
kindness.

i was surprised.

she looked like she meant it.

i felt the same way about her.

i forgot.
that's usually a two way street.
today it was a four way street.
or maybe a sixway street....
definitely a whole highway full.

there was so much kindness between the
four of us this afternoon. between a lot
of us this afternoon.

you could touch it.
you could feel it.
you could see it.

it was a gift running thru the veins
as powerful as any of that stuff they
were pumping bag after bag today.

again, i was humbled.