Gentle

by Alfred K. LaMotte

A gentler world begins

in the way you touch your heart.

Be soft with the light inside you.

Caress your body with this breath.

God is nothing else

but the place where the sun comes up

in your chest.

You are the glimmering destination.

You are the golden honey daubed

on the bread of the ordinary.

Whatever is perfect,

whatever is heavenly,

begins here.

From Savor Eternity One Moment at a Time, St. Julian Press, 2016, page 1. Also in The Wonder of Small Things: Poems of Peace & Renewal, edited by James Crews, North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing, 2023, page 125.