poetry wednesday : what would happen if I treated everyone like I was in love with them, whether I like them or not

March 31, 2010 in Uncategorized

Bonfire I Wonder

I wonder what would happen if

I treated everyone like I was in love

with them, whether I like them or not

and whether they respond or not and no matter

what they say or do to me and even if I see

things in them which are ugly twisted petty

cruel vain deceitful indifferent, just accept

all that and turn my attention to some small

weak tender hidden part and keep my eyes on

that until it shines like a beam of light

like a bonfire I can warm my hands by and trust

it to burn away all the waste which is not

never was my business to meddle with.

-Derek Tasker

What do you wonder?

(Thanks to Laura Collins for pointing me to this poem.)

About Patti Digh

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.

8 comments to " poetry wednesday : what would happen if I treated everyone like I was in love with them, whether I like them or not "

  • Reply
    Pam
    March 31, 2010 AT 10:44AM

    This is beautiful and perfectly delivered to me this, of all, weeks in my life.
    Thanks!
    Pam

  • Reply
    mrs mediocrity
    March 31, 2010 AT 12:11PM

    And so I will try to do just that on this day. One of my mantras is “You can’t control the behavior of anyone but yourself.” This fits right in.

  • Reply
    Teri and the cats of Furrydance
    March 31, 2010 AT 2:08PM

    I’m working on thinking that way and for me, it’s helping and it bounces back to me…

  • Reply
    a.q.s.
    March 31, 2010 AT 3:40PM

    Wow. Thanks for sharing. This is so profound: I wonder what would happen if /I treated everyone like I was in love/ with them, whether I like them or not” because we tend to hold this special space of compassion when we love another, even when we don’t like another, and definitely continue to hold another in high regard when they don’t love or even like us back!

    I wonder what would happen if I would actually finish any of my fragments of writing. Any.

    thanks for inspiring.

  • Reply
    Jes
    March 31, 2010 AT 5:08PM

    I have been working on this very thing. But this poem puts it so eloquently. I love the notion of keeping your eye on the “weak tender hidden part.” Thank you.

  • Reply
    Beth Patterson
    April 1, 2010 AT 9:47AM

    I love the ‘never my business to meddle with’ (in the first place). I’m putting focused attention these days to what is mine to meddle with. Makes life simple and short: it’s my attention span. That’s all I am to meddle with.

    Love this. Post it on my fire circle page on the Virtual Tea House. Thank you.

  • Reply
    Kim
    April 1, 2010 AT 10:22AM

    Love this, love this, love this. Wow.

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