kindness poems

A Country That Lost Its Way

Allow me to tell
You a lovely little story
About a country that
Lost its way because it
Believed in hatred and
Division rather than
The common good and love.
It’s the tale of every
Civilization that has
Come crashing down while
Shrugging its shoulders
And wondering why it
Happened, human beings utterly
Convinced that competition
And conflict are more important
Than helping one another succeed,
People who don’t understand
We’re all in this together.

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A Place of Kindness

Their dead eyes
Reflect a dearth of
Self-love, which
Affects their ability
To care for anyone else,
Which, in turn, makes
It exceedingly difficult
To build a society where
People care for each other.
The good news is that
People can change,
And have demonstrated
Time after time that
It’s possible to live
From a place of kindness.

Rising or Falling

So, it’s really
Not that complicated:
Just treat other
People nicely.

Don’t step on
Someone’s neck when
A simple kind word
Will do.

We only have this
One fragile planet to
Co-exist on,
Rising or falling together.

Sure, we can selfishly
Destroy one another,
But there are
Far better options.

Business Executives

Innocent people die
Because business
Executives desire
The extra money to
Build giant
Swimming pools in
The desert.

Human beings live,
Thrive, enjoy life,
Because the business
Executives care
For something
More than
Personal gain.

And It Is

He’s amassed wealth
Beyond his wildest dreams,
And it is from
This lofty perch
That he decides
To shaft as many
People as he
Possibly can.

She’s become more successful
Than she ever thought possible,
And it is from this
Vantage point that
She chooses to
Help those
Less fortunate
Than her.

Two Brothers

Two brothers grow up
In the same family.
It’s not a particularly
Wonderful or unusual environment,
Filled with constant berating and
The weight of persistent unhappiness.
Nobody is praised in this house
And everyone is encouraged,
Both explicitly and implicitly,
To adopt the view that the world is
A hopeless place where you
Take your lumps and deal with it,
Grab what’s yours and hang on.
Not much light enters, but
That’s not the end of the story.
The boys grow up. One never escapes
The shadows of his past, the other
Helps people blossom.

One Less

How easy it would be
To build one less room
In one’s third mega-mansion,
Pass on one additional
Exotic car, schedule
One less lavish party for
Well-heeled friends where
The bill for the champagne
Alone is more than the
Salaries of the staff
Dutifully attending guests,
Go on one less extravagant
Vacation to Monaco,
In order to build a
World where everyone has
A chance to succeed.
No one needs a one-hundredth
Expensive pair of shoes or
Custom suit when other
Human beings struggle
To find their next meal.

Practice

Profiting
From war doesn’t
Lead to conciliation.

Bellicose
Words don’t
Invite dialogue.

Suspicion and
Hatred don’t
Bring us together.

Peace
Is
Possible.

We just
Need to
Practice it.

Convincing

The exhausting struggle
Between pessimism and optimism,
One seeing all the things
We can’t change and
The other visualizing
A new day. No small feat,
Convincing a doubter that
We can actually do
Something to help the poor,
Reverse the tide of
Discrimination, improve
Everyone’s quality of life,
Live in peace,
Save the planet.
It’s been shown time and again
That human beings can do
Amazing things to help
One another, enduring evidence
We are capable of moving beyond
Trepidation to collaboration.