It’s so easy
To scream at people
About how lazy they are
Or how little they
Deserve help,
But much harder to
Come up with
Viable solutions
To complex problems,
Although we’ve shown
Time after time
Progress is possible
As long as we care.
We sat together and
She told me that in her
Many years on this earth
She had come to understand
That real patriotism is
When you care enough
For your fellow citizen
To make sure she has
A job that allows her to
Support her family,
Health care when she
Falls ill, clean air,
Water, food to nourish
Her body, parks that
She can enjoy on her
Her time off, a genuine
Opportunity to move up,
Buy a house, own a car,
Travel, learn, enjoy,
Thrive instead of survive,
Have her voice matter,
Live with dignity rather
Than barely making it
Because some callous
Group of broken beings thinks
Only they are deserving.
This very moment,
If we choose to,
We can agree to
Love one another and
Come together to build
A world of kindness and
Compassion, a place
We can proudly leave to
Our collective children.
My granddaughter and I sit
Together and I tell her
About a time when we
Finally resolved to
Take care of those
Less fortunate than ourselves,
That the collective whole was
More important than any one person,
No matter how wealthy or powerful,
That a little girl like her
Was just as valuable as
The richest man on earth,
And everyone was cherished.
It doesn’t
Have to be
Us versus them,
People have shown
Again and again
That they can
Live in harmony,
Care for one another,
Behave compassionately.
Each of us can
Love more than hate,
Help one another more
Than compete, understand
Rather than become enraged,
Yet we ignore these gifts.
The only creature that
Can shape its own mind
Repeatedly dooms itself
To self-annihilation by
Not healing its
Unresolved hurts.
It remains not just a dream
To build a world where
We care for one another,
Celebrate our commonalities,
Exercise our innate ability to
Live in harmony.
A beautiful tree
Resplendent in clear sunshine,
Verdant limbs swaying—
I adjust my new t-shirt,
Hoping she’s looking over.
It’s not out of the question
To envision our world as a
Place where human beings care for
Instead of kill each other,
Though certain misanthropes
Who profit from misery
Would certainly disagree,
All that is required is
Treating all people
As the rare and valuable
Gifts they are and letting go of
The traditional nonsense about
Being somehow different or
In competition with one another.
