Hope
People spill into the open market,
elbows collide, hands fly, sellers
relentlessly shriek at buyers
when a soft bump against my leg
veers me off the market current
and a child's small plea, "Excuse me,"
thunders exoneration for us all.
Child eyes move into me
safely, sweetly jarring a memory
that to honor another is enough
to break the inertia of indifference.