Saving Face

I saved a face today,
it was unintended.
A kindness rendered--an afterthought,
the focus shifting
     from self to other,
being right trumped by
letting go
     of being right
to save a friend
from truth's deep burn.

A turned-down light
still illuminates
     so that one can see.
No need to blind, disorient
with glare of detail.
He knows the that
but can't fix the how
nor change the pattern.
Stay or go, it's all the same,
the pattern's set, and yet ...

I saved a face today.
What prompted it?
A different kind of
shame.

______________
First publication.
*photo of  wooden ornament on top the radio, by awyn