The Best of Kindness 2017

Are there small or large gestures when it comes to kindness? How do we decide and why would we make such distinctions? The poems in this anthology ask and try to answer such questions. Included are 62 from over 300 poems sent to the Origami Poems Project's 2017 'Kindness' contest - with Finalist Judge, award-winning poet, Mary Ann Mayer. Join poets from 30 states and over 12 countries on this journey of insight and compassion. Included in this collection are the Winning poems: 1st place: 'I hear her voice calling' by Daun Daemon; 2nd place: 'Hands' by Frank Dullaghan, 3rd place: 'A Kindness Bestowed' by Lynne Burnett. Honorable Mentions: 'Hospital Sounds' by Joyce Schmid & 'Heroics' by Maryanne Hannan, Editor's Appreciation to Dmitry Blizniuk for 'Don't be sad, Chrysostom.' New this year is the Pixie/Wendy, ' a 'creaturely appreciation' for the poem, 'Morning Traffic' by William Masters.In total there are 62 poems - Winning poems, Finalists, and other superb entries that were considered for the Finalist grouping of 23.Poems are gathered into the following sections: Landmarks, Counsel, Perspectives, Upon Reflection, Our Muted Brethren, and Askance. Also included is an essay on kindness by Mary Ann Mayer along with her thoughts on the qualities of the winning selections (and honorable mentions).Cover art, "Little Mysteries of Being" is by the talented poet-artist, Lauri Burke. OPP Editors who conducted this contest, Jan & Kevin Keough, also manage the Origami Poems Project. Additional reading of the contest entries was done by Lauri Burke.Images in this collection are from work by Carl-Peter Mayer, Peg Quinn, Helen Burke, the above-mentioned Lauri Burke, and Kevin & Jan Keough. We thank them all for their kind generosity.A non-profit, The Origami Poems Project has been publishing free microchaps since 2009. A microchap is a page of 1-6 poems arranged on a single sheet of paper and folded, origami style, into a palm-size microchap. Each cover is originally created for the poet - see our website. Our motto is: 'Helping the world, one free microchap at a time.' Visit our website or seek us out on the hidden paths of Twitter and Facebook.www.origamipoems.com