Pearls

Authenticity
Is a big jar
Of pearls
Shiny
Precious
Guarded
And rightly so

So when

By request
Or by courage
The pearls are shared
Willingly spilled out onto a table
There should be
Someone there
Ready to catch the pearls
That roll off

Someone there

That knows how to arrange
Spilled out pearls
Into a pattern

Someone there

To acknowledge the courage
Honor what’s been shared

Someone there

That does more than
Celebrate that
The jar is empty
 
Because the goal
Is not
To get people
To empty their jars

Authenticity’s goal is deeper

Focused more on the pearls
Less on the jar

I hold what you share

You hold what I share
We protect each other’s pearls

And they grow in beauty

And we grow in beauty
And beauty grows in us
Everyone more beautiful  
For the sharing