FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE

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 Shoulders

by Naomi Shihab Nye



A man crosses the street in rain,

stepping gently, looking two times north and south,

because his son is asleep on his shoulder.



No car must splash him.

No car drive too near to his shadow.



This man carries the world's most sensitive cargo

but he's not marked.

Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,

HANDLE WITH CARE.



His ear fills up with breathing.

He hears the hum of a boy's dream

deep inside him.



We're not going to be able

to live in this world

if we're not willing to do what he's doing

with one another.



The road will only be wide.

The rain will never stop falling.



please note: photography by Arnold Genthe, 1869-1942, Chinatown, San Francisco

Comments

  1. RoseJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:55 AM

    LOVE that poem. Thank you for continuing to share poetry with us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The BugJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:33 AM

    I love it too - would that we all would take such care with each other (and our own selves, actually!)

    ReplyDelete

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