A Man Walks Towards Me

By Janet Childs

A man walks towards me

And as I look up,

his lips and eyes widen

and then crinkle into a smile

Sparkling eyes, rich and sacred mouth

This is someone’s baby, this full grown man;

he sat on the knee

of a parent, a grandparent

And he remembers the kindness

of small acts –

affection, presence and exchange of energy

that is expanded, woven, netted into a blanket

of human dignity, of togetherness

The breath, where we pause, here and now

It is a sunrise