Butterflies and Hurricanes

Being generous isn’t only about donating 

your wealth to the needy (though that helps)

It’s also about being present

It’s listening to someone earnestly 

As if every word they’re uttering is a spell 

And every insecurity, doubt and fear they have 

persists for a reason 

And that reason may be powerful but not invincible 

Being generous is looking at someone 

as they unwrap themselves around you 

It’s letting them know it’s OK to feel they’ve lost

in this sick game called life

Like all the pain they have deserves to be felt

And every agonising memory is worth a tear 

Or a laugh, or both 

Being generous is letting someone  

in your private world of aches and creaks 

And letting them know it’s better to be 

Sad, broken, exhausted and lonely 

Than turning into what they were running away from 

Being generous is letting their light shine

through every anxious crack in their soul 

Because that’s how they breathe