I will watch for tenderness this morning,
Watch for young lovers in the cafe leaning in
And saying nothing but everything important.
I will watch for the shopper who drops a coin
Into an old and rusty can where a bearded man
Plays Dylan and Lennon and imagines no hell below.
I will watch for bands of cloth and angel choirs
And wise old men serving soup out of big pots
To the grateful, poor and anxious saints who smile in return.
I will watch for children dancing because nobody's looking
And ladies singing Billie Holiday and Mahalia because they can.
I will watch for someone treated poorly who resists
The urge to sneer and bark and hiss righteousness.
I will watch for someone who makes a huge mistake
And moves immediately to apologize, and weeps.
I will watch for Mary in a cave, a baby in her arms,
And the simplest communion of all, a mother
Nursing her child and offering herself as bread and holy wine.
I will watch for peacemakers in Brooklyn and Pakistan,
And I will watch for defiant biologists who believe
The planet can be saved and the children can be fed.
And I will watch for tenderness around the edges
Of your eyes and in the great depths of your spirit.
I will watch.
Through the day, and into the night,
And through whatever darkness may come.
I will watch.
