Even if
You can squish
Every unkind accusation,
Every ungenerous assumption,
Every condescending slur,
Every angry berating
And every turning of the tables
Such that you are the oppressor
Into a single grain of salt,
Locked away,
Dealt with, for now,
There comes a reckoning:

Grains formed daily
Build to fill the salt-cellar,
Build to salt the foundations
Of the whole edifice,
Build to season
And overwhelm
You.

Kindness.
Love.
Hope.

These wash, dilute and heal.

Blessing.
Joy.

These are received as healing gifts,
An unsquishing of deeply buried saltiness
Yielding sweetness.

October 2020