Kindly Light, Lead

Plant a seed of hope In spaces that fear rules.

Pat a back Rigid with anxiety Murmur a word of trust And watch that back relax.

Stay a bit longer With someone who fears To be alone Teach them that One’s greatest ally, Is oneself.

Help a heart Begin a song In the arid desert wastes Of pain and grief Show it how The hollow bamboo Picks up and magnifies Every whisper of the wind.

Bring a lost soul To a place It can call home. Lead it, kindly light, To believe That no soul is ever lost Without a hope for succour That all dark spaces And lightless ones can be lit And radiant.

Guide a spirit That has lost its sense of purpose, Destiny or destination Help them understand That no outside force Can chart its path And that only it’s thoughts Can make or mar It’s life force It’s life’s force It’s life. Force It to do what it mustn't, shouldn’t, oughtn’t.

Plant a seed of hope In spaces that fear rules.

©️ 2022 Suma Narayan. All Rights Reserved.

I wrote this piece of poetry using Winston’s story about the power of lifting others, as a prompt:

Shoutout to Mukundarajan V N for this incredibly moving and poignant real-life story about how a policeman, and another good Samaritan helped an abandoned dog:

I have written this in the unrhymed format of increasing numbers of even lines, before bringing the number full circle to two lines. Tagging some of my favourite poets and writers here to try out this form, if they have the time, and inclination: Ilis Trudie Palmer Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar, Margie Willis Neera Handa Dr, Ravyne Hawke Anna Murzyn, SD Stalzer , A.H. Mehr, Ahlam Ben Saga, Sujona Chatterjee, Wry Welwood, Hayden Moore, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), Connie Song, and anyone else I may have, inadvertently, left out. Thank you.