Yesterday I looked everywhere
for reasons to compliment people
which I do from time to time
like having a sauna or a fondue
I should do it more often
because it isn’t hard at all
like leaving a light on
in your mind
that normally stays dim
the giddiness kicks in right away
I want to French-kiss people
and be in a musical
but then she shows up
rhapsodic in her own way
the shameless marketer
inside me
elbowing into the joy
like she always does
a moth to light
she has an urgent idea
to make it competitive
to make compliments a board game
I write it all down
and get back to rummaging the crowds
for loveliness
trying not to think
about how it is easier to be ambitious
than kind.