Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
like salt in a weakened broth.
feel the future dissolve in a moment
what you counted and carefully saved,
What you held in your hand,
all this must go so you know
between the regions of kindness.
how desolate the landscape can be
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
who journeyed through the night with plans
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
and the simple breath that kept him alive.
You must speak to it till your voice
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
catches the thread of all sorrows
only kindness that raises its head
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread,
like a shadow or a friend.
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
To Teach Kindness
In the poem, "Kindness" by Naomi Shibab Nye the poet is trying to explain what it must take to truly be a kind individual. This poem goes through what a person must undergo to feel kindness. Naomi wrote this poem to teach her opinion of how people become kind. Her views of developing kindness involves losing things, transportation, comparison of lives, and most importantly being sorrow. The author separates these ideas by making lengthy sentences dedicated to one belief each. Naomi develops this free verse poem with her use of hyperbole's and symbolism with the belief that only those who have suffered and experienced sorrow can be full of kindness, because of their grateful nature.
In the first stanza of the poem the speaker develops this idea of losing things. She says, "You must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment.... What you held in your hand." When the poet says "things" that could be absolutely anything that a person holds close to their heart or worships. But to be taught kindness you must lose those things, let them disappear and leave your possession. People tend to lose things close to them, whether that be a living or non- living object. The loss of anything to somebody can pester a person with sorrow for long periods. Sorrow developing kindness is the main theme of this poem.
Another idea Naomi develops is how you transport, when the speaker says, "How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop, the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever." The importance of this is the transportation of the bus. The bus is symbolized as poorness. Traveling on a bus is an inexpensive way to travel, as well as the detail of eating inexpensive maize (corn) and chicken. The passengers stare out the window of the bus forever, because they're lives are static. When someone lives a poor static life they will begin to develop sorrow for themselves.
Then the last idea the speaker develops is the purpose of comparing your life to others. Naomi proposed the idea by saying, "You must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road. You must see how this could be you." Once a person compares themselves to a lifeless person, we feel gracious enough to still have our place on earth. But not only does the sense of graciousness come over us, a sense of sorrow is taken into account. Our emotions towards life are greater than losing an object, or the amount of money we carry.
In all honestly though, this poem is a hyperbole. In millions of ways people can be kind. This particular speakers opinion doesn't define or limit kindness. The speakers idea of those who have developed sorrow is just a simple way to teach gratefulness, therefore making someone kind. If someone does have money, doesn't loose prized possessions, and never sees an unfortunate person does not mean that they cannot be kind. This poem is opinion based and is written free verse to develop her thoughts thoroughly. The author used these situations because people who are poor, and have lost possessions or others tend to be more kind than those who have not faced extreme sorrow.
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