Gratefulness in Transit

The train’s packed, air thick with noise,

everyone tethered to their screens, lives on mute,

but when a stranger offers me their seat,

it feels like sunlight bursting through glass.

For a moment, I’m seen, more than just a number,

a small kindness breaks the endless gray,

and suddenly, the chatter turns into laughter,

as I notice a child, wide-eyed with wonder.

The chipped paint beneath me tells stories,

whispers of passengers passing, their journeys,

no longer lost in my thoughts, I breathe deeper,

every inhale a reminder that life’s waiting out there.