Moses killed a man, stirred up as he was, finally admitting he was a brother to the defenseless one under attack.  Oh it was a mistake, to be sure, a crime of passion, anger not yet refined in the fire of the burning bush.  That’s not the example we should follow…

But stand up, let blood
flow to your heart.  Befriend
the one in distress.

A Skytrain bully incensed by Emma’s sensory storm on an overcrowded train, threw his suggestion at us – Put duct tape on her mouth, he snarled.  The others, afraid of the tension withdrew into armored personal spaces, except one.  As we hastily left, the brave one held eye contact, smiled kindly.  Simple, but he steadied us past that turbulence.

© 2016 – Laurel Archer

Photo credit – Laurel Archer
Poetry form: Haibun