I’ve declared this before
And I’ll proclaim it again
One more time
My impassioned plea:
If we invite
One friend
One neighbor
One colleague
One classmate
One family member
Just one to…
Turn away from the blindness
Turn up the kindness
Turn around the lies
Turn our eyes to the skies
Turn down the enmity
Turn it over to empathy
Turn off the foxy firebrand
Turn out a helping hand…
We can salvage
Our shattered society
You won’t know them
From their flying flags
From stickers
Placed on monster trucks
Or shouted loyalty slogans
No
No
You will find them
Instead
Comforting the distressed
Soothing the sick
Feeding the famished
Aiding the poor
Protecting the vulnerable
And educating the innocent
It lives in their heart
It refines their mind
It edifies their soul
They don’t seek the spotlight
They don’t chase fame
They don’t lust for praise
They simply love
And they love simply
Patriotism isn’t a performance
Patriotism is affinity and affection for all
We sat in the back
Baritone and bassoon
Outcast to the fringes
Of the band
I the mere victim
Of undesirable placement
Relegated to the rear
Due to my chosen instrument
He, however,
The unwanted nomad
Classmates refused to see
Indistinct and isolated
Each day he would arrive
Same striped shirt, frayed shoes
Discolored dungarees
Reeking of weeks’ worth of wear
I can rescue him
I proclaimed to my pre-teen self
I’ll be his ally
Defender and advocate
“Have you thought of getting a haircut?”
I’d whisper between tune ups
“You’d look crazy cool in contacts”
“What size shoes do you wear?”
I’d deliver small gifts
Deodorant, soap
Toothbrush, shampoo
Suggest he wash clothes and shower
He didn’t heed my kind counsel
Declined my boorish goodies
He needed a friend
Yet I insisted on being his hero
With each favor or tip
His song became softer
Down to the day I discerned
I was his bully
We need
a shot in the arm
a double dose
of spirit
to guard our hearts
from polluted prose
that crushes
empathy’s pulse
supposed
to be
our days
to come
together
to unite
and
to embrace
empathy
Instead
we fought and
faced
curious choices
between
forced freedoms
and
reasonable restraint
And
networked
figures
convinced followers
that faith
in science
and living
responsibly
was a sign
of
fear
And
we turned
our phones
against our neighbors
to document
and denounce
those
who
made excuses
to go
maskless
posting and sharing
their sin
spreading their
shame
And
saying
Black Lives
matter
somehow
devalued
the worth
of all souls
And
holding all
police
to the highest
of standards
meant
you were not
a patriot
Some
cried
to open
businesses
and
schools
yet
closed
hearts
to those
forced
to risk lives
to just
do
their
jobs
And
online agitators
continued
‘gramming
and
tweeting
to
trigger and troll
the slushiest
snowflakes
And
they continued
pushing lies
Big Lies
meant to
breed
burn and
boil over
If only
we would listen
and learn
instead of
squawk
and spew
We are blessed
with
a new day
a new choice
a new tomorrow
Will
we join
fractured forces
eager to
undermine
pleas
to unite
?
or
Will
we
listen
learn
love
?
We have a choice
Will
it
get
better
?
I have
hope
