Listening As the Art of Compassion

A poem about the importance of listening with your whole being

Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

I spent many years learning to listen
so I could hear the sorrow
of a plant without water
the slowly moving bumble bee
In the new heat of languid summer.
The new normal, we called it —
quietly crunching boots
upon the throats of crickets
as the fire hydrant spewed out
the muck of a city’s shame.