Much of my work, whether it be
giving a workshop or coaching someone, centers on helping people become smarter
in their communication strategy. And
becoming smarter is really all about becoming more emotionally intelligent.
While this exquisite poem is
something of a meditation, it does shine a light on a simple word that is part
of the core vocabulary of every healthy communicator. . .
The Word That Is a Prayer
By ELLERY AKERS
One
thing you know when you say it:
all
over the earth people are saying it with you;
a
child blurting it out as the seizures take her,
a
woman reciting it on a cot in a hospital.
What
if you take a cab through the Tenderloin:
at a
street light, a man in a wool cap,
yarn
unraveling across his face, knocks at the window;
he
says, Please.
By
the time you hear what he’s saying,
the
light changes, the cab pulls away,
and
you don’t go back, though you know
someone
just prayed to you the way you pray.
Please: a word so short
it
could get lost in the air
as
it floats up to God like the feather it is,
knocking
and knocking, and finally
falling
back to earth as rain,
as
pellets of ice, soaking a black branch,
collecting
in drains, leaching into the ground,
and
you walk in that weather every day.
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