My mother loves people
the way people love chocolate
or kittens or movie theaters.
She smiles, meets their eyes, learns
their names,
and speaks with sunshine in her voice.
Her easy words would be wrong on my
tongue.
I love people differently.
I see a stranger. I prepare to speak
But...
What if they are offended?
What if they feel obligated to listen
when they are bored, uninterested,
don't care?
Perhaps I should not risk
their happiness for my desire to
connect.
Any words may give awkwardness,
offense, even pain
but if I offer love
people can choose which to receive.
So I smile, meet their eyes, learn
their names,
try to put Mother's sunshine in my
voice.
The words are not easy but I practice,
I try
because we love people,
my mother and I.
