This Is Good

After weeks of ignoring the accumulated papers on your desk
you force yourself to sit down and deal with them,
and you find that most of them have sorted themselves out
and can be discarded.

A regular and long-standing meeting is due.
You have long lost any interest in the group and dread having to go out on a very hot day,
when you’d much rather stay in the shade of your own cool garden.
An email arrives saying that the meeting has been cancelled.

You have hit a dead end in your thinking,
all inventiveness has vanished like snow in summer.
Your head feels empty of ideas.
A glimmer of hope,
words come again.

A thunderstorm clears the air.
You rush outside and let rain wash all oppression away.

You finally decide to postpone reading a worthy book which came
highly recommended.
Instead you pick up the latest novel by a much loved author,
less well thought of.
You lie back and read into the small hours, loving every minute.

An acquaintance has a present for you.
Your heart sinks,
experience tells you it will be a gift for which you have
neither use nor liking,
but you must show gratitude;
they mean well.
They hand it to you and you were wrong.
They found the book, the token, the flowers
you didn’t know you wanted.

But best of all is
to have a friend who will come to your aid
when you are troubled and ill.
When the news is bad,
when clouds obscure your vision,
and you don’t know where to turn for the best.

Best of all is a friend
who will lift the burden with a light touch,
whose kindness comes
straight from the heart.