greetings far and wide
hearts momentary grasp
a smile of shared kindness
if only this could last
shallow are grey blue waters
when for another do not share
freedom used to ring
for gold we only care
daily the reminders
a smile so white and pure
a child trusts my hand
love is our world’s cure
*
gathering place
happy red tomatoes
instant friends
The prompt for this week at Poet’s United Mid Week Motif is Independence.
That concept used to be so dear – now is a time when people are enslaved in so many ways.
penned in moon dust 
Sadly nowadays there is too much greedy love and not enough sharing and giving love. However we must keep on trying to share our love as much as possible.
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Hi Leslie – lovely … wonderful kids … just down to earth, lots to give via smiles … cheers Hilary
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“a smile of shared kindness / if only this could last” Much pain is there in the word ‘if’…Love the photo…
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Thank you Leslie, your poem helped me visualize how you felt. 🙂
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What is in that incredible picture? I’m mesmerized. I could look at it all day.
“a smile of shared kindness” … Surely we can all do that.
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This is how life should be…the happiness radiating from that little boy’s face.
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Enjoyed your verse and photo…hope all is well.
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I loved the caption! Life is all about being happy, and children exemplify that trait more often than not.
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You remind us that sharing the joy of independence is instinctual, that internal and external lock-down is the second motion or third or fourth.
“if only this could last”
“The marketplace of life” is the perfect title.
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So many truths in your poem. Love is the world’s cure, and we each and every one need to send more of it out into the universe.
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Leslie, it is lovely to see you at Poets United…….I am so glad you got to Uganda. I can imagine the children stole your hearts. Their smiles are all the more amazing, given all they have gone through. I love your poem, especially “a child trusts my hand.” That is a gift!
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Interesting observation about the many ways we enslave ourselves.
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Hi Leslie, Your thoughts on orphans being cast-offs is interesting and sad. I volunteer at an orphanage in Ecuador, where things may be completely different than Uganda. Some of the kids who live in the orphanage are not true orphans but were given up by their parents. The reasons are always heartbreaking and it never occurred to me to think of the parents as casting them off. The parents give up their rights so the kids can have a better life. It seems that they are actually trying to save the kids.
One example: a woman brought all five of her kids to a police station asking them to find a home for the kids. She could not feed them nor house them nor protect them from the world. The kids were absolutely covered in flea and mosquito bites, they were all emaciated and filthy. None of them had ever attended school. I felt so sad for the woman (and of course the children). At the orphanage, they are all doing great now about a year later and all of the older ones are in school. I hope the mother is surviving okay.
I love the photo that you shared with us and thank you for bringing attention to orphans.
Emily
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Ugh this comment was supposed to go with your Smiles… post. Not sure how I messed that up.
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You are right people are slaves of their own desires, greed and hate. The meaning of freedom is lost in the real sense
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Wonderful words they made me smile.
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