Kindness

The Kindness of Strangers A Point of Honor by Dorothy J. Heydt

 

We are ghosts

With clever screen names

Never quite connecting

We do not look each other in the eyes

Or bother to smile

For both present suspicion and an inner power struggle

We are too confused with kindness

That we dismiss it as weakness

Find it an opening to exploit and devour

Manners became a fading art

Thank you and Excuse me are a dying language

In this era of accessibility

We reward selfishness and hostility

Do for ourselves and no one else matters

Then we are surprised

When our worlds are constantly crashing and restarting

A vicious cycle of greed and self-importance

That we have left no time for kindness, no time for politeness

Personal sacrifice is simply left to saying no to a purchase at the mall

Or passing up that one drink

Sacrifice is a foreign policy that is outdated and labelled archaic

We look for fast starts and faster endings

Click of a button we have connect with anyone and everyone

Words become easy and consequences are few

We build our own walls with open forums

Hide behind status updates

We have forgotten each other

The art of communication, the art of kindness

Is quickly fading in this digital age