The Man Who Makes The Cranes Poem by Jim Yerman

I find I quote Mother Teresa a lot, I do so respectfully.
I admire her giving nature and her spirituality.

In November I wrote a poem about origami cranes as a way to inform and entertain
Since that day as a tribute I have been making cranes.

When I started working at the bookstore, since I make cranes any way,
We decided to keep them in a basket and start giving them away.

A gift to all our customers and here’s a pleasant thought..
They are free to anyone who wants one whether they buy a book or not.

It is a simple gesture with no strings attached that customers have embraced
Meant only to elicit joy and put a smile on their face.

Perhaps if one person takes that smile, (this is not absurd as it may sound)
It might go out into the world and be warmly passed around.

Until that one crane picked by one person from a basket at our place
Is responsible for putting a smile on the entire human race...

Hey, you never know it could happen, it could start a smile chain...
Perhaps that is one reason I continue making cranes.

It is better to give than to receive is an old adage...but I also have perceived
That in the act of giving is the magic to receive.

It is symbiotic...you hope that in the giving perhaps you will captivate and beguile
And you receive enchantment from the wonder of their smile.

The other day when I opened the store as I began my routine I could see
There on the counter...a dollar bill and a note were waiting for me.

‘This dollar was left by a woman, ’ the note went on to explain,
‘Who wanted to give a little something to the man who makes cranes.’

So I took that dollar bill, folded it into a crane and it’s little wings I spread
I’ll keep it as a constant reminder of something Mother Teresa said...

She said we don’t have to do great things in life...we do not have to rise above...
But everyone has the capacity...to do small things with great love.