Salvation

For the three-house span walk  from her bus stop
a child lingered to rescue earthworms
washed to the sidewalk by the rains.
One by one she lifted each little being
in spite of its wriggling resistance to her rescue
and returned it to its moist lawn habitat,
repeating the process
every few steps
all the way home.

For the thousands of worms beyond her short walk,
being scorched on the concrete in the afternoon sun
would be their likely fate.
But for the dozen or so worms along her short path,
the universe offered them a chance to thrive
after a storm
through the small hands of a child.