kindness poems

Former Racist

“I’m a former racist,”
He says matter-of-factly,
“And I know that all this
Agitation and strife is
Caused by two things,
Greed and fear: greed
Because we’ve all had it
A certain way all these
Years and don’t want to
Give anything up or share
What we’ve got, and fear
That the people we’ve wronged
Will rise up and come after us
For everything we’ve done
To them.” He pauses and adds,
“It’s time for us to
Acknowledge what’s happened and
Start talking about it so
We can all live together
Like we’re supposed to.”

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Achievable

Living
In peace.

Helping
One another.

Valuing
Sharing.

Promoting
Love.

All
Achievable.

The World Made Kinder

He helps
A vulnerable
Stranger.

He finds it’s
The most meaningful
Thing he’s ever done.

The world made kinder
By a person’s
Selfless gesture.

Other People’s Lives

It was a
Beautiful moment,
A realization
That he had the
Ability and
Wherewithal to
Make a difference
In other people’s
Lives without any
Need for recompense,
Only the reward
Of knowing he had
Done something good.

Benefit

The difference between
Doing something because
You have to or
Because you want to.

Giving to benefit
The greater good or
Solely for appearances,
Altruism or self-interest.

This Place

A group of individuals
Gets together to plan
Not the complete domination
Of the planet by any
Means necessary, the
Hording of obscene wealth
At the expense of people
And the planet, but rather
The future of this place
Called Earth, where we
All have the ability to
Help one another succeed.

The Way It Is

A condescending
Pat on the head
Is all he gets
For standing up for
Those who have nothing
And a system that
Routinely denies
Basic opportunity.
It’s just the way it is,
Platitudes regurgitated by
People who can’t envision
A world where
We take care of
One another and
Compassion is the norm.
Ignoring ignorance
And indifference,
Always moving forward
Toward a brighter day.

One Less Mansion

It doesn’t have to
Be this way.
Companies can make
A lot of money and
Pay their employees well.
CEOs can pay themselves
Slightly less,
Build one less mansion,
So that their workers
Can buy a car,
Afford a mortgage,
Send their kids
To college,
Take a vacation,
Set some money aside,
Enjoy life.
Inequality doesn’t
Have to be the norm
Unless those at the top
Want it to be.

Crucial Shift

Blissfully easy,
Categorizing a
Human being as
Defective, lazy,
Unworthy of care,
Compassion.

Cruel exercise,
Rendering a person
Featureless,
Expendable,
Trash decomposing
In a gutter.

Crucial shift
From apathy, scorn,
To compassion,
Understanding
That is all of us
But for chance.