Mirror Neurons

by Yvette A. Schnoeker-Shorb

With the world so unpredictable,
always in motion, it’s hard to trust
the universe or even a stranger
who smiles, that brief second
of eye contact, reassurance
that things are not so bad.

But then there are the mirror
neurons, and you can’t help
smiling back, nature’s political
etiquette, instant transmission
of molecules to gentle stress,
calm depression, a social salve

we give to each other only
because we see more similarity
than differences in being
human on a moving planet
for a brief millennial moment,
existing at the exact same time.