World’s Most Sensitive Cargo
“A man crosses the street in rain, stepping gently, looking two times north and south, because his son is asleep on his shoulder.
No car must splash him. No car drive too near to his shadow.
This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo but he’s not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE…” Shoulders Naomi Shihab Nye
While I was listening to The Writer’s Almanac, this stanza of the poem “Shoulders” stood out to me.
It instantly made me think of my children but especially Victoria. If ever there was a requirement for marked cargo, it certainly is her. “Fragile” would be stamped right next to “Strong”. It is this dichotomy that would leave the postal worker confused which pile to place the package. V carries around a bravado that demands express shipping but she really only feels worthy of packaged services, junk mail.
Being able to determine the care without fixating on the package is often difficult because that is the part we see most often, the outside. But we all are so much more than what can been seen and heard. The most valuable part of a person, is also the most sensitive part, that can only be felt.
