Short Poem #5 - Tenderness

💛

When tenderness touches you,

You burst out into tears.

Tears of Joy.

It rinses your heart clean,

So clean that your intentions are visible.

Because you've got nothing to hide.

Your soul has returned into gold.

Kindness overflows,

Oh, liberating tenderness.

Side story

I was at a cafe in Ha Noi, in April 2025. There was a girl, probably around 5-6 years old. Look like she's the owner's daughter. She came to sit next to me and asked for my phone if she could take a picture with it. She didn't speak English so we tried our best to use hand gestures. She giggled a lot, you know, like typical kids. She carried my phone around the place, taking pictures of random people and pets. After that, showing pictures to me if I approve them.

That was a cute moment I had. And suddenly my heart felt warm, by this small-sized human stranger. I don't know what kind of feeling it was -- but I assume that my heart felt "tenderness". For the moment I realize, I wanted to keep this tenderness and spread it, and live by it everyday.