I ran into a stranger as he passedby,
‘O excuse me please,’ was my reply.
He said: ‘Please excuse me too,
I wasn’t really watching for you.’
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our ways and said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat out loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down,
‘Move out of the way,’ I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken,
I didn’t realise how harshly I’d spoken.
While I lay awake that night in bed,
A still, small voice came to me and said,
‘While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the children you love, you seem to abuse.’
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You’ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise
You never saw the tears that filled his eyes.
FAMILY = (F)ather (A)nd (M)other (I)
(L)ove (Y)ou
Inspirations, Volume 1
