FREE VERSE
Pretty
are she, her heart, and her soul
To the little girl who called me pretty, thank you.
On your tiny pink bike, wearing a white summer dress,
you reminded me of daisies and sunflowers
and the winter sun.
Pure, warm, and bright.
You greeted me on the footbridge.
I, a stranger in a stranger land
and you on your daily bike ride with your mother,
you showed me how easy it is to be nice,
in the blink of an eye
with a dainty wave of a hand.
You called me pretty when you passed by.
Barely reaching a third of my height,
you could have just left and
I still would have remembered you,
your innocence and your hunger for life.
But over the screech of your training wheels
and through the evening crowd’s mumbles,
you shouted the words — so pretty.
And for the first time in a long time,
I felt like I was not a spectator
and it was my own perfect movie
while somewhere, some time, in another continent,
a timid little girl also heard you.
She, I, and every other me,
thank you.
To the little girl who called me pretty,
pretty are you, your heart, and your soul
and powerful are your words
a power that crossed the bounds of time
and made a dent of hope in this world.
© Madhuvandhi Ravi 2023
A chance encounter in a strange land and a simple act of kindness could change someone’s day. This poem is to celebrate one such sweet interaction and feel grateful for the beautiful, kind people I have met.
Thank you, Diana C., for this great platform and for letting me share these precious moments with Know Thyself, Heal Thyself.
