A Small Needful Fact
Is that Eric Garner worked
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants do, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, like making it easier
for us to breathe.
Ross Gay
Copyright © 2015 by Ross Gay. Reprinted from Split This Rock’s The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database.
This beautiful poem reminds me that everything we do matters. Regardless of how small or insignificant it may seem – a smile, a helping hand, perhaps deciding to speak up at a meeting - we have no idea of the potential impact of each small and well-intentioned gesture, of the ripples of impact that might spread from one small beginning.
When we live and lead our lives with integrity, drawing on our gifts as Eric Garner did, doing the things that feel right for us to do, or we feel called to do, we may set in motion a whole ecosystem of life-giving potential.
Is that Eric Garner worked
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants do, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, like making it easier
for us to breathe.
Ross Gay
Copyright © 2015 by Ross Gay. Reprinted from Split This Rock’s The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database.
This beautiful poem reminds me that everything we do matters. Regardless of how small or insignificant it may seem – a smile, a helping hand, perhaps deciding to speak up at a meeting - we have no idea of the potential impact of each small and well-intentioned gesture, of the ripples of impact that might spread from one small beginning.
When we live and lead our lives with integrity, drawing on our gifts as Eric Garner did, doing the things that feel right for us to do, or we feel called to do, we may set in motion a whole ecosystem of life-giving potential.
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