On your way to work this morning, did you notice
the beggar child, eyes filled with tears,
face pinched by hardship?
Or your own beggar-heart
starved for love, for light.

In the din of traffic, did you hear
the lonely call of a solitary bird
perched high on a light-pole?
Or your soul"s desperate plea
To sing its own song?

Juggling deadlines,
did you pause to consider,
that you too have an expiry date?
That, your life is waiting to be taken as a gift
and lived.

Does your smile reach your eyes,
does it reach the other"s heart?
Are the windows of your eyes shut tight
with worry and distraction?
Does suspicion clog your heart-valves?

Is coffee the only thing that lifts you up,
or alcohol?
What about laughing child-eyes
or the lift and sweep of a soaring seagull?
or the joy that comes from within.

Is life passing you by,
while you
play out the various roles in a life not quite yours?
If life comes knocking,
are you busy in another existence?

It"s time to let life in.