Here’s how to
Build a better world:
Stop child abuse.
Holding his father’s hand,
He wonders how long it’s
Been since they left home
And how much longer they
Would have to walk through
This arid wasteland, so
Far away from everything.
With the money from
A single bloated military
Contract, they could give
Every woman, child, and man
A million dollars, or rebuild
Our public schools, expand
Health care, develop alternative
Energy, create a jobs program,
But they decide the common good
Doesn’t matter as much as
Fattening the pockets of
Corporations to bursting.
It’s not irrational to
Expect leaders to
Encourage our better nature,
Promoting collaboration
To create a stronger
Whole instead of
Pandering to base
Instincts that keep us
Fighting one another
And destroying our
Shared habitat;
We need not settle for
Selfishness when we
Can realize so many
Things together.
Thinking and behaving
Courageously, the
Purview of the few who
Understand that the
World is a better place
When we all help
Each other flourish.
Sure, it takes effort
To be kind: You have to
Be able to transcend
Your own immediate needs,
Put yourself in
Someone else’s shoes,
Value another person
Who isn’t you,
Let yourself be vulnerable
To the possibility that
They may not reciprocate,
Consciously create
A world where
Compassion is the norm.
At the end of another
Day on the picket line,
Shouting herself hoarse,
Enduring taunts from
Constricted, angry faces,
Walking miles so that
Others might not have to
Do the same, toiling on
Behalf of the less fortunate
Who have no voice,
She puts her coat in the closet,
Throws on some comfortable
Clothes and lies down
On the couch, quickly
Dozing off to dream
Of fewer battles.
Dreams overlooked,
A mocking laugh bids
Possibility goodbye while
In another corner of the
Planet someone understands
That we all do much better
When we take care of
Each other and the fragile
Place we all inhabit.
