A Gift of Change – A Poem

I was sitting

by the pool

when she approached

me. The sun

had gone down

and the darkness

of night had

come upon us,

lit only by

the twinkle of

stars, interspersed throughout

the sky like diamonds.

“Would you like a gift of change?”

She said to

me. I thought

that I had

misheard her. I

looked up into

her face and

found it full

of light despite

the darkness.

“I’m sorry? A gift exchange?”

She smiled again,

white teeth flashing

in the blackness

of the night.

“A gift of change,”

She said again.

“A Cuban gift, for you. Would you like one?”

I nodded and

she held out

a cup filled

with little slips

of paper. I

took one, choosing

it at random.

I tried to

give her a

peso, but she

shook her head.

“Change is free.”

I looked at

the slip of

paper and saw

that it was

covered with words:

A light Spirit, bright Soul, happy Heart

I stared at

the words for

a moment, unsure

of what they

meant, what change

it was that

I was being

given. Then, as

Cuban music began

to play, sounding

as if it

were coming over

the mountains that

surrounded us, I

felt my soul

dance to the

sound, heard my

heart singing along

to the music.

As I sat

there, brightness began

to pour out

of me, spilling

from inside of

me, gliding from

my skin until

it joined the

stars in the

sky. I knew

that my soul

was at peace

and so was I.

Turning to the

woman to thank

her for her

gift of change,

I saw no

one there. Instead,

there was only

the glittering of

stars light, dancing

along with the

music.