Today left me musing

about the sometimes meager changes I bring

for those around me.

I deal with sickness and loss,

love and life

on the small scale, every day.

Some days,

I feel as though I’ve chipped away

a tiny corner,

shedding the scales

from the layers that life

glues on us all

Other times, I

think I’ve done nothing more

than provide customer service,

The same

as when I’d ring people through

and ask if it was cash or credit.

A smile, a song, a kind word.

Sometimes, the best gift I have to bring isn’t what I’ve trained so long to do,

But the spirit that lives within,

That we all have,

Uniquely ours.

Connected to the larger picture,

I can feel where I end

and others begin.

We all cry, love, feel.

And maybe the gifts I bring

aren’t meagre after all,

If I can raise another up,

even if it’s only long enough

for them to catch their breath,

And keep on going.