In the book, “Scatter Seeds of Kindness”, I chose to put this prose section after the poem rather than before as I did with most other poems.  The reason is there is a car crash scene that I didn’t want the reader to see coming. Ironically, I did not see that crash coming either. This poem started off with someone at the end of the day just recalling all the frustrating and mundane events that happened. The poem was going to be about how the person was feeling bad about the way she treated loved ones, and how she let little things throughout the day eat away at her and steal her joy and goodwill. Then suddenly, before I even knew what was happening, I was writing the car crash verse. So this poem went in an entirely different direction than I had planned, which is fitting I suppose, because how many times does our day end up going in an entirely different direction than we had planned when we woke up?

Some people believe that there are no coincidences and that everything happens for a reason. I imagine one of those bird’s-eye view scenes in a movie of a large city and everyone going about their day, in and out of coffee shops, bumping into each other, darting in and out of traffic, etc. It all seems so random, yet we are supposed to believe that there is a reason that everyone is at that same time and place? The concept of “no coincidences” seems far-fetched to me. But if there are no coincidences, what does that say when or if something bad happens to you? What is the universe trying to tell you? If it wasn’t a coincidence, did you do something to deserve this bad luck? Is there a lesson that you are supposed to learn from this incident happening in your life? In this poem, the woman was thankfully spared the bad luck, but she did learn something just by witnessing it. This person was able to take an introspective look and realize how she was letting events that happen throughout the day chip away at her, and ultimately her happiness and good nature. It was impacting her relationship with others, as she replayed in her mind the way she spoke to her loved ones. She realized that there are people in the world who are suffering in much greater ways than being stopped by a train or running late for an appointment, and yet they have such strength and perseverance to continue fighting each day. In the end she vows to try to do better but realizes that she is human and will probably have some failings. Perhaps that is the reason she was placed at the scene rather than being directly involved. Just being an observer to an event is sometimes enough to get a point across and therefore, as in this case, it was not a coincidence that she was there at that exact time. Sometimes we don’t need a large jolt when just a small nudge will prove the point.

How many times do we witness something or hear about someone else’s misfortune and we hold our breath and say a few prayers; one to pray for the person or family impacted, and a second to say thanks that it didn’t happen to us? In that moment we vow to do better, be kinder, and give more; whether it is love, or money, or time. But then the next day rolls around and we start our day and something happens to throw us off and the cycle continues again, the reflection from the previous night forgotten as we go about our day, already haggard. As the person in this poem eventually realizes, she is just human and trying her best. Perhaps at the end of the day, realizing and understanding that we are all works in progress and just aspiring to do better is the most important reflection of all.

Reflections of the Day

From dawn to dusk, the words they flow
Inside my tired head;
The things I did, the things I thought,
Those things I left unsaid.

Or words I spoke with tongue too harsh
That struck out of the blue;
The look you gave, the hurtful eyes,
What made me strike at you?

The road rage on the way to work,
The hurdles in my way,
Pedestrians stuck in my path,
The train that caused delay,

The frustration as it builds and grows
Stuck in an intersection;
A glance into the rearview mirror
I see my own reflection.

It’s tense and angry—where’s the joy
to live another day?
Too many thoughts roam through my head
And chase that joy away.

Then suddenly I see it hit,
The car that ran the light!
The crash, the BOOM, the breaking glass;
I tense in “fight or flight.”

Then sigh and breathe, it was not me.
I’m safe, out of the path.
I take a moment, say a prayer,
I’m spared this awful wrath.

Someone’s life just changed forever
Before my very eyes.
The chaos as the scene unfolds,
The desperate, anguished cries;

The sirens blaring through the air
Take me back to reality.
Three seconds sooner had I approached,
I knew this could be me.

My fingers grip the steering wheel;
My heart pounds through my chest.
I slowly exit from the scene
As my brain tries to digest.

I reflect upon the day thus far,
My thoughts so negative;
When others suffer greater strife
Yet have such will to live.

I am annoyed by such small things
That I let impact my day.
I take to heart, to my own harm,
Things that get in my way.

They slow me down, distract my mind
And throw my day off course.
But perhaps there is a lesson there
From some greater, unseen force.

I say a silent “thank you.”
For some reason I was spared.
My heart goes out to those today
Whose lives were so impaired.

I vow to turn my thoughts around,
Embrace the positive
And wave away bad energy,
Life has too much to give.

But as I learn to walk down this new path
I know I’ll trip and fall.
Bad thoughts will creep into my head;
I am human, after all.

So reflecting on this, at the end of the day
I promise to do my best.
But for now, it has been quite a day
So I’ll allow myself to rest.