Wendy

What a wise person says is the least of what they give. It is in the little habits of life, the daily acts of kindness and courage that were handed down to that person by a mentor a generation ago which were handed down by a mentor before—and stretched back into the dimness of time.

A year and a little more I had
Wendy as my weekly mentor.
One Saturday I tried to do something loving,
And it failed, and I was sick and took the wrong bus home.
In short, it was a disaster.

And in my campus mailbox the next week
Came a card, the “Get Well Soon”
Crossed out and rewritten
“You Are Cool.”
I laughed about that for days.
It was so very Wendy.

In my memory, she always clapped and cheered
When I walked in her door,
Exuding eagerness to know me, to be with me,
Sharing her gift of hospitality.

I clap and cheer for guests now,
Passing on the hospitality I have received.
May there be another generation of
Welcome, coming soon.