Kindness and Generosity

When death within a year or less

Approaches to near certainty

And becomes common knowledge, watch

For all the surprising kindness

That can blossom out of people,

Their startling generosity.

What possesses humanity

That pettiness can get a rest

For someone so undeserving?

Admit that at a minimum—

You are not, nor were you ever,

Deserving of the kindnesses

Shown to you once the news got out

That you were caught in a vortex

That could not be escaped without

Medicines not invented yet.

First, everyone’s in that vortex—

People love to remind themselves

No one gets out of life alive.

It’s just that you’re spinning fast now.

Second, when were you generous

And kind to the extent people

Are now being kind to you? Once,

On impulse, maybe twice? Perhaps,

If that. No one would mistake you,

No one should mistake you (you!)

For a paragon of goodness,

And until recently you were

Confident no one ever had.

And yet here people are, helping

To extraordinary degrees.

If you were planning a tombstone

(You aren’t), an honest epitaph

Would read, Here lies old-and-so,

Of whom nothing much comes to mind,

To whom people were truly kind.