Thank You, Stranger 

The world has been consistently challenging for a while now. No one is exempt from the bizarre rite of passage that this pandemic has offered up. I urge you to please choose love over judgement, togetherness over division. Most people are struggling in ways you know nothing about. Kindness and love are some of the most powerful tools for healing. 

Here’s a little poem to remind everyone of the power of small, seemingly insignificant, acts of kindness. 

Thank you, Stranger. 

Thank you, sweet lady, for pausing what you were doing today, 

And losing your spot in the check-out line 

to tell me that you thought I was beautiful.

You didn’t know 

that I had spent all morning 

Talking to myself, saying things like:

“If I just stop eating and drinking, 

eventually this body will die,

And I’ll finally be free.” 

You didn’t know

My new mantra:

“It’s going to be okay somehow. You’re going to be okay.

You’re going to make it through this hell eventually. 

You won’t be here forever. 

It’s the basic law of evolution—everything will change. 

Just keep breathing. In and out. In and out. 

Chop wood; carry water. Eventually something will shift.” 

You didn’t know 

that I’ve spent the last two years 

crying myself to sleep most nights,

feeling the pain of the collective 

like a million tiny shards 

twisting and turning inside my heart. 

You didn’t know

That my heart hurts

From so much loss and grief

Death and transformation

And that everyday

My biggest victory

Is just trying to keep it together

You didn’t know

That right before I walked in here

I was sitting in my car

Debating whether to smash it into the brick wall

You didn’t know 

That I had lost faith—

In humanity, 

In God, 

In myself

You’ll never know 

That our 15-second interaction

Sent a teeny, tiny 

spark of light

Into the dark cave 

That’s been consuming me.

It wasn’t about being told I was beautiful. 

It was that you chose to be kind to me

For no reason. 

You were just being you—

A lovely stranger with a warm heart and kind eyes. 

What was a passing moment for you, 

Was a lifeline for me. 

I cried again 

when I got into my car

But this time, 

They were tears of hope—

hope for humanity. 

Your sweetness kept me alive today.

I had been a starved wanderer

Lost for countless days

In a mental desert with no food and water.

Your brief gesture—

a morsel of nourishment for my sad heart.

Your kindness kept me alive today. 

Thank you, 

beautiful stranger. 

Your grace kept me alive today. 

It is you

That graces this world with real beauty.