Maybe it Echoes

Maybe the cashier with the puffy eyes
was rude to you.
But maybe it’s because he’s tired
because he was up all night
visiting his mother
at the hospital off Poplar Level.
Because maybe they don’t know
how many days she has left,
and it’s eating him inside
that he never showed how grateful he was,
and maybe it’s too late…

But maybe if you can find it in yourself
to smile and talk to him kindly,
maybe you’ll stir something in him —
something good, and true,
and brave enough to love.
And maybe he’ll be able to say goodbye
and let her know he loves her,
one last time,
because of you.
And maybe the doctor will see,
and maybe she’ll be so moved
she’ll hold a door for a stranger,
because of you.
And maybe the stranger…
because of you.
And maybe…

Just maybe,
a kind act is never lost.
Maybe it echoes.