At the post office
after the big snowstorm
there was a long line
because so many packages
had not been delivered.
As I went in a man held the door for me
and said if I wanted to wait in that line
I should take a lunch.
It was indeed a long line
but I had driven all the way to town
to do errands
and even if I had to wait an hour
I would. But
several other people came
in the main door
and their eyes widened
and they left.
The post office is one of the few places left
where there is every kind of person
all together.
In the parking lot
hybrid cars sit next to huge trucks
each with its expected bumper stickers.
It could have been ugly inside
what with the mix of hippie mamas and
their dreadlocked children
and the enormous red-faced men
with big facial hair
and expressions of suspicion.
But instead people were cheerful
possibly glad to get out
after so many days
of being snowbound.
When the tiny Latina grandma and her
even tinier raven-haired granddaughter
went to go outside
someone held the door for them
and then again for another brown woman
coming in.
Two spots ahead of me
a mama was teaching her little boy
how to do long multiplication, and
the importance of carrying the one.
Then he showed her one of the cards
they sell there these days
with picture of a flying kitten.
The caption said “Incoming Hug!”
and the boy’s face was a study in joy.
Then one of the only two clerks
put up a “Window Closed” sign
and went to do something else.
There was a great muttering
and shuffling of feet,
and then the man in front of me
asked the mama in front of him
if he could show that little boy
a magic trick.
I moved right around so I could see too
and the magician
made some coins disappear.
Then he pulled out a card
and said it was his birthday
and that sometimes
on his birthday he could pull on a card
and make it stretch out of shape
and then he did just that.
We were all so engrossed
that we didn’t notice
that another clerk had come out
and it was now the mama’s turn
to pick up her packages.
As I went back to my spot
behind the magician
I saw those red-faced men
and they were grinning
like little boys themselves.
Our country is said to be in very bad shape
and I know it’s true
and that there is this huge divide.
But I know the answer now,
I have seen it at work:
all that’s needed is a little magic.
(Dear Ones: I have been trying these last months to publish a new poem, prayer or meditation each week on Monday morning. I am changing this now to Friday. Please do me a huge favor, and if you like a post, share it to Facebook and/or your friends. Thank you, and see you on Fridays! Blessings, Rev. Leisa)