Run 「走る」

I whirl around
to face him,
his eyes
round and curious,
rimmed with fresh tears.

"I am not kind."
I reject his kind words,
and that makes me even more
unkind.

Through his tears,
he persists,
telling me I am kind,
and that no one has ever
helped him before.

He says the feeling
is great,
and when he is done
wiping all his tears,
I hold out my handkerchief
for him to use.