Mag 42 - Cup of Kindness

I stared at the cup sitting on the edge of a corner somewhere in the darkness. The cup stared back at me. In the darkness there was sadness, so much sadness that even mystery itself had died in the deepness of the dark. Still, the cup pulled in what illumination there was from somewhere beyond the darkness of the deep and the light enveloped the cup with a patient hope for more illumination and more hope. I googled "challis" to confirm that I knew the correct spelling. I did not. It would be chalice. I enlarged the photo to look for clues to the meaning of the cup but clues did not matter, not really, because three words kept defining the cup for me. Days passed by with those three words whispering to me, yet no poem sprung from them and no vignette either. While others toasted Thanksgiving with their muses my husband and I toasted the holiday with our water glasses, and I thought of the cup on the edge of a corner somewhere in the darkness.....and those three words repeated like a mantra in my brain. The day after Thanksgiving we delightedly watched the live broadcast of Portland's tree lighting in Pioneer Courthouse Square -- ten-thousand people were there in what is called the City's "living room." Then came the breaking news that a young man, a college student, had with all his heart intended to blow that celebration, those celebrants, to smithereens. His plan foiled by the FBI, he failed and was jailed. Early on Sunday morning the mosque in Corvallis where the young man once prayed, near Oregon State University where he attended classes, was set afire -- the fire contained in one room, a Koran turned into a blackened chunk.

The strains of a song began playing low in my head last night. I hummed it the way I do when a song visits me, keeping it subconsciously close until it moves on or tells me something. This one told me that the three words I lived with for the past five days now needed to be shared, and that this music would assist.

Cup of Kindness

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(Sorry about the bummer ads preceding & following the video. Also, religious images in this video (created by another) do not necessarily represent of my own religious beliefs or lack thereof. In fact, I do not know if they represent Emmylou's religious beliefs.)
Cup of Kindness- Emmylou Harris


Cup Of Kindness
 by Emmylou Harris

You gave yourself up to the mystery
And sailed the oceans looking for
The secret of the key
To unlock a truth that you may never find
For it was in a cup of kindness all the time

You feel the thirst
But none can make you drink
The answer's waiting for you here but
It's not what you think
It won't steal your soul or leave you blind
It was just a cup of kindness all the time

And when Mother Mary finally comes to call
She could pass right thru your heart
And leave no trace at all
While you were reaching for
The sacred and divine
She was standing right beside you
All the time

And the emptiness
You can't seem to fill
Beauty fades and pleasures cannot
Take away the chill
And the glamour lures you down into a lie
O but the cup of kindness
Never will run dry

You hear the vandals
Howlin' down your walls
And arm yourself against the ones
Who want to see you fall

Till some Holy Grail reveals
The grand design
Well it was in a cup of kindness
All the time 

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To read what other writers had to say about this photo prompt, please visit Magpie Tales.

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Local report Portland bomb-plot suspect wanted "spectacular show" here
Local report about intentionally-set fire at Corvallis Islamic Center here
Information about Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square here
Cup of Kindness is from the beautiful album Stumble Into Grace by Emmylou Harris


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