In the realm where hearts entwine,
and compassion untainted prevails,
and where ego’s shroud is cast away,
there the face of the other is found.

For in the face of the other we find,
a mirror to our soul, a truth defined,
no longer strangers, but kin we see,
bound by the threads of humanity.

Beyond the surface masks we wear,
and the categories that we apply,
lies a depth of being, hidden, rare,
where we behold the face that beckons.

In the encounter of seeking, a duty unfurls:
an ethics of care that begins right here
in the presence of the sacred person,
in the humanism of the naked other.

In living this ethics that is the tapestry
of existence, we are the weavers of
compassion, bringing together in our
creative encounter a unity intertwined.

For Emmanuel Levinas

9/7/2023