<html aria-label="message body"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space; font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Has She Really Left?</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Kindness fled with her brother, Wisdom.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">She wore an earth-colored shawl, </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">no makeup, jeans, and sensible shoes.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Her brother looked back, wide-eyed, </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Prematurely gray hair </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">framed his face like a prayer.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">You couldn’t make any more</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">though it was clear </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">he was the shorter of the two.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">You assumed Kindness was gone for good,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">as she told no one, textless out the door.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">You felt her absence as dark economics </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">pressing into your forehead </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">like a third, unwanted eyebrow.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The restaurant owner was relieved</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">she could no longer distract his customers.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">He cranked up the Slavic folk music</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">and launched into a kick dance.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">But don’t fear her absence.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Didn’t you see her unload </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">the food boxes at the shelter,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">comfort the boy with </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">the purple knee at preschool,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">direct the Somali family to the church</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">to avoid the stench of enforcement,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">and sit at the intersection in a silver Lexus, </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">where she waited patiently </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">for you to take your turn?</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Though you don’t see her now,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">she’s around.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps she went next door </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">to help someone,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">or needed a little extra time</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">with her brother, Wisdom.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">- Karl Kadie</span></div></body></html>