Poem: "To Be Gentle and Kind"
Jul. 25th, 2023 02:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem was written for Prompt 7: Zinnia / Bonus Prompt Red Rose in the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sunshine_challenge. It also fills the "red" square of my 7-1-23 card for the Fireworks Bingo fest. It belongs to the series Eloquent Souls.
"To Be Gentle and Kind"
[Tuesday, July 25, 2023]
Zinnia Innis spent the afternoon
walking up and down Iowa City
with a backpack of handouts
for the homeless youth.
She couldn't fix whatever
put them on the streets, but
she could make sure they
had fresh socks and soap
and a few meal bars.
Most were polite and
appreciative, some
laconic, a few creepy.
"You keep being so nice
to people, someone's going
to think that you're soft and
take advantage of you,"
one guy warned her.
"It takes strength
to be gentle and kind,"
the next boy said.
"And to stand up
for someone you don't
even know," Zinnia said.
She had been waiting so long
to hear the Words, and now she
took off her plaid flannel shirt to show
her tank top and the surreal image of
a zinnia-headed lady beside the writing.
Shyly the redheaded boy tugged up
his pants leg to reveal the red rose
and her Words written above it,
now dusted with glister.
"I'm Darry Reynolds,"
he said. "Pleased
to meet you. "I've
been trying to live up
to your Words for years."
"Zinnia Innis," she said,
laughing, "and I've been
trying to live up to yours."
"I guess we bring out
the best in each other,"
Darry said with a smile.
"We sure do," Zinnia said.
"So Darry, would you like
to come home with me?"
"I would love to," he said,
tucking his hand in hers.
* * *
Notes:
Zinnia Innis -- She has fair skin, brown eyes, and long straight brown hair. She is tall and slim. Her heritage is American; she speaks English. She is 19 years old in 2023.
Zinnia lives in Iowa City, Iowa. There she volunteers to help homeless youth. That's how she met her soulmate, Darry Reynolds. Her soulmark from him (on her left upper arm) shows a woman with a zinnia head and reads, It takes strength to be gentle & kind. She has always tried to live up to those Words. His soulmark from her (on his right calf) has a red rose and reads, And to stand up for someone you don't even know. Zinnia wears outdoorsy girl clothes. Her base colors are blue and white, accented with pink and green.
Zinnia Innis' soulmark from Darry Reynolds
(on her left upper arm, a woman with a zinnia head alongside the Words)
It takes strength to be gentle & kind
Darry Reynolds' soulmark from Zinnia Innis
(on his right calf, a red rose and above it the Words)
And to stand up for someone you don't even know.
Darry Reynolds -- He has fair skin, green eyes, and wavy red hair cut short. He is short and sturdy. His heritage is Irish-American. He speaks English. He is 18 years old in 2023.
Darry lives in Iowa City, Iowa. He has been homeless for over a year after fleeing an abusive home. That's how he met his soulmate, Zinnia Innis, who volunteers to help homeless youth. His soulmark from her (on his right calf) has a red rose and reads, And to stand up for someone you don't even know. He has always tried to live up to those Words. Her soulmark from him (on her left upper arm) shows a woman with a zinnia head and reads, It takes strength to be gentle & kind. Darry wears outdoorsy boy clothes in bright shades of blue, green, and purple.
Darry Reynolds' soulmark from Zinnia Innis
(on his right calf, a red rose and above it the Words)
And to stand up for someone you don't even know.
Zinnia Innis' soulmark from Darry Reynolds
(on her left upper arm, a woman with a zinnia head alongside the Words)
It takes strength to be gentle & kind
sunshine_challenge. It also fills the "red" square of my 7-1-23 card for the Fireworks Bingo fest. It belongs to the series Eloquent Souls."To Be Gentle and Kind"
[Tuesday, July 25, 2023]
Zinnia Innis spent the afternoon
walking up and down Iowa City
with a backpack of handouts
for the homeless youth.
She couldn't fix whatever
put them on the streets, but
she could make sure they
had fresh socks and soap
and a few meal bars.
Most were polite and
appreciative, some
laconic, a few creepy.
"You keep being so nice
to people, someone's going
to think that you're soft and
take advantage of you,"
one guy warned her.
"It takes strength
to be gentle and kind,"
the next boy said.
"And to stand up
for someone you don't
even know," Zinnia said.
She had been waiting so long
to hear the Words, and now she
took off her plaid flannel shirt to show
her tank top and the surreal image of
a zinnia-headed lady beside the writing.
Shyly the redheaded boy tugged up
his pants leg to reveal the red rose
and her Words written above it,
now dusted with glister.
"I'm Darry Reynolds,"
he said. "Pleased
to meet you. "I've
been trying to live up
to your Words for years."
"Zinnia Innis," she said,
laughing, "and I've been
trying to live up to yours."
"I guess we bring out
the best in each other,"
Darry said with a smile.
"We sure do," Zinnia said.
"So Darry, would you like
to come home with me?"
"I would love to," he said,
tucking his hand in hers.
* * *
Notes:
Zinnia Innis -- She has fair skin, brown eyes, and long straight brown hair. She is tall and slim. Her heritage is American; she speaks English. She is 19 years old in 2023.
Zinnia lives in Iowa City, Iowa. There she volunteers to help homeless youth. That's how she met her soulmate, Darry Reynolds. Her soulmark from him (on her left upper arm) shows a woman with a zinnia head and reads, It takes strength to be gentle & kind. She has always tried to live up to those Words. His soulmark from her (on his right calf) has a red rose and reads, And to stand up for someone you don't even know. Zinnia wears outdoorsy girl clothes. Her base colors are blue and white, accented with pink and green.
Zinnia Innis' soulmark from Darry Reynolds
(on her left upper arm, a woman with a zinnia head alongside the Words)
It takes strength to be gentle & kind
Darry Reynolds' soulmark from Zinnia Innis
(on his right calf, a red rose and above it the Words)
And to stand up for someone you don't even know.
Darry Reynolds -- He has fair skin, green eyes, and wavy red hair cut short. He is short and sturdy. His heritage is Irish-American. He speaks English. He is 18 years old in 2023.
Darry lives in Iowa City, Iowa. He has been homeless for over a year after fleeing an abusive home. That's how he met his soulmate, Zinnia Innis, who volunteers to help homeless youth. His soulmark from her (on his right calf) has a red rose and reads, And to stand up for someone you don't even know. He has always tried to live up to those Words. Her soulmark from him (on her left upper arm) shows a woman with a zinnia head and reads, It takes strength to be gentle & kind. Darry wears outdoorsy boy clothes in bright shades of blue, green, and purple.
Darry Reynolds' soulmark from Zinnia Innis
(on his right calf, a red rose and above it the Words)
And to stand up for someone you don't even know.
Zinnia Innis' soulmark from Darry Reynolds
(on her left upper arm, a woman with a zinnia head alongside the Words)
It takes strength to be gentle & kind
(no subject)
Date: 2023-07-28 02:27 pm (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2023-07-28 06:14 pm (UTC)