Extra time on the meter

Some­times it’s just a lit­tle extra time on the meter,
that first bulb of spring show­ing yel­low or pink,
that one per­son who says, “that’s a lovely neck­lace on you.”

It makes a dif­fer­ence, that moment,
between tears and laugh­ter,
giv­ing up and car­ry­ing on.

Karma, grace, bless­ing,
call it
what­ever you like.

I know some­times I’ll for­get,
and flow­ers don’t bloom on demand,
but I can try keep com­pli­ments and quar­ters ready to go.

(Thank you to Mrs. W., who com­pli­mented me today on my touch-up of grey and com­pli­mented my weight-loss, all unknow­ing, and said that I “didn’t need to lose any more, I was a lovely girl as I was.”)