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Quote by Naomi Shihab Nye

“Kindness Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop, the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever. Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness, you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road. You must see how this could be you, how he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive. Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. You must wake up with sorrow. You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth. Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore, only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread, only kindness that raises its head from the crowd of the world to say It is I you have been looking for, and then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend.”

Quote by Naomi Shihab Nye

Book:Words under the words: selected poems
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Work

Words under the words: selected poems

This book is a compilation of poems that delve into the intricacies of language and the complexities of human emotions. The poems within are chosen for their depth and artistic expression, offering readers a glimpse into the beauty and power of poetic language. more

Author

Naomi Shihab Nye
Naomi Shihab Nye

Naomi Shihab Nye is an American poet born on March 12, 1952. Her work blends personal experiences with a wide range of cultural backgrounds, known for its concise and profound language style. more

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