Dignity

There is no dignity in death, 
She says with contempt. 
She is right of course. 
Dying gives one the clarity
Of crystal catching light, or 
A bell ringing at midnight.

There is no dignity in war,
She decried, watching her husband
Plan his flight. The words,
Cannon fodder, came to her lips
Unbidden. She'd never spoken
Them before, still they were there.

Dignity, such a noble word
For something so simple. 
Where there is goodness
Dignity is there, quietly attending 
The needs of the body, the soul. 
Its purest form is found
In the kindness of strangers:

Rubbing a dying woman's feet, 
Singing songs in a bomb shelter,
Speaking truth to power, 
Offering to sit with a stranger, 
Sharing coffee and a meal. 
Dignity is unity in action.

"I am you, you are me, 
we are we, Together."

Gwir Huddleston Llewellyn

March 2022