The stars go out
One by one
Another tear drop
Another star lost
The autumn colors
Fade to dull grey
A heaving sob
Brilliance turns to ash
The healing rain
Corrodes all it touches
Tainted with sad
Salt water tears
My heart
Sighs and rips
Paints the world black
When I see you cry
Sometimes I get angry
I hate everyone in the world
Hey!
I’m only human
You nod, aren’t we all, aren’t we all
And that’s just it, we are all human
With all that implies
And that shared humanity
The compassion and love
That’s all part of being
Only human
Every one of us, all
I try to live by the ideals
To tolerate all but intolerance
To hate only hate
To celebrate the differences
To embrace my neighbors near and far
But I’m only human
Aren’t we all?
If the world frowns at you
If you are surrounded by those that hate
Come and see me
And I’ll try to help
With what little I have
But I’m only human
But aren’t we all?
I shared a laugh
With a neighbor
A thousand miles away
I chatted amicably
With a friend
Across the sea
I wrote a silly verse
For a special one
Who lives around the world
The boundaries
State, national, cultural and religious
Melt away
Leaving only our shared humanity
I saw a sign
Of hate
In my town
I heard exclusion
From someone
In my state
I read about calls to violence
To all who are different
From my fellow countrymen
How can those so close to me
Be so far apart?
I shared a laugh
With friends
Near and far
I hope tomorrow
It won’t be a cry
Does it make me bigger
To make you smaller?
Does it make me good
To paint you bad?
Does it cleanse my blood
To spill so much of yours?
Does it make me right
To say you’re always wrong?
We stand side by side
As equals
We’re only humans
With both good and bad
Our hearts pump
A shared blood
The greatest right
Is to hold out our hand to those who do wrong
Would it make me smaller
To pull you to my level?
Would it make me bad
To see the good in you?
Would it taint my blood
To admit that we are brothers?
Would it make me wrong
To admit that you are right?
— — — —
A quick poem written for #PoetsForPeace. See original post for collaboration.
I bet there is at least one thing I can do better than you! No, I’m not bragging, just stating a simple fact. OK, sure, we can go the other way too – there is at least one thing you can do better than me.
These “things” that we do better than each other might be essential or frivolous, smart or stupid, silly or serious, work related or related to play or not related to anything at all. The “thing” might be what defines one of us or something we never, ever think about. It might be important or nothing. Maybe I can play piano better than you but you draw better. Maybe you draw better, play piano and trumpet better, write better stories, write better computer programs, are better at setting up servers, kayak better, bike better, etc., but there is at least one thing I do better, even if it’s sit with good posture. Continue reading
I think most of us feel we are good people. We go about our lives and we try to do what we feel is the right thing. We feel for those who have been hurt. We feel moral outrage at those who have wronged others. But for the most part we just go along with our lives, doing our daily chores, seeing our friends, shopping, going to work. Very ordinary.
And then sometimes something extra ordinary happens. Occasionally it is good. Sometimes it is bad. All too often it is horrid. It may not affect us directly, but we still feel it. We are caught up. We feel sad. We feel mad. We are shocked and repulsed. Sympathy and compassion come up. Hatred and anger come up.
Acts of terror are designed to do more than just cause fear. They are designed to do more than terrorize. There is intention. Sometimes it is a warning. Sometimes it is revenge. Often the intention is more subtle. Often the psychological reasons are far beyond the simple ones the media often reports. Continue reading
Hello. Come on in out of the strong, cold north-wind and grab a cup of strong French Roast or Tea. Yeah, my normal greeting is a little muted today, but you know why.
Usually I let you guess where I am by the picture. Well, I am only in Paris in my thoughts right now. My body is in New Hampshire.
This was a week like any other. Work. Play. Reading. Writing. Cold. Rain. But now that it is over, I don’t want to talk about it. I want to talk about something else. Oh, we can take time to chat about small things later if you want. Perhaps I’ll do a repeat tomorrow that is a little lighter.
Yeah, we’ll talk abut what people the world over are talking about. Continue reading
I ask for tales of exotic lands
You tell a story of my home town
I question you about foreign people
You speak of my friends and neighbors
I want to know the jungle creature
You talk about my backyard deer
I ask about your distant culture
You discuss my daily routine
I call you my friend
You tell me I’m your brother
I try to see the differences
You show me we’re the same
I look for a mystery in your face
And see mine reflected back
–
Originally posted 7 April 2015
Like an astronaut
A separate satellite
Orbiting the world
Just a thin sheet
Between me
And the void
A speck of dust
A dot
Sterile
Alone
Lost
But you see through that, don’t you?
You see the green forest of friends
Many lives interconnected
So you can’t tell were one begins and one ends
Each an organic part of the whole
—
Phone photos taken out of my home-office window.
We’re all just Human.
I like to say that sentence. It has a lot of meaning. We’re all just human. I’ve had a handful of posts where this phrase was implied throughout. Usually I had the more positive meanings in mind.
I think the first meaning I usually talk about is our similarities. There is no such thing as race; it is a social and cultural construct. If space aliens came down, they’d talk about the dominant species of the planet coming in a variety of colors, but for the most part all being very similar. They would not speak of race, because race doesn’t exist, because we’re all just humans.
I’ve also implied that phrase when I’ve talked about people in different social positions. From the top scientist and politicians, the CEOs of the largest corporations down to the poorest of the poor, the least educated and the least powerful, we are the same. We have the same emotions, the same basic dreams. If those space aliens took samples of people from the top of the social pyramid and the bottom, they’d find only minuscule differences. Genetically we are very, very similar. We are all just humans.
But that’s not what I want to talk about today. Continue reading
Trent's World (the Blog) 