From a Distance

From a distance what I saw in a Down Syndrome child was a human in the raw— forgettable, lamentable, wild. My prejudice was abhorrent dismissing a "different" being. Disdain came in a torrent driven by cold-eyed seeing. Then came a close-up look at a new grandson in my arms. My bias I forthwith forsook lost in his extra-gene charms. Almond-shaped eyes, short fingers flat nose—those one observes. But the trait that ever lingers is a smile an angel deserves. The sight remodels the mind, assures that nothing is awry. Anything like it you won't find regardless of how hard you try. From a distance what we see is often not what we suppose. The virtues of human intimacy universal truths ultimately disclose.