It’s Not That We Should, We Must!

I live with a dream that won’t go away;
it haunts my steps day after day.
In my dream, I am always called to task
for hiding behind a deceptive mask
of indifference and selfish disregard
for those whose lives are very hard,
who merely survive from day and day,
who rage with anger when their children say:

“Daddy, I’m hungry and very cold.”
This beautiful child is eight-year-old,
a victim of someone else’s greed,
an example of why we desperately need
to come together in mutual trust;
It’s not that we should, we must!

I still have a dream, despite it all;
if the sun should burn out, or the sky should fall,
I will not give in to violence and hate;
with one breath remaining, it’s not too late
to live by Love, not just think it through;
there may be nothing more I can do,
but I will have tried to stem the tide
of injustice, greed and arrogant pride.

(With gratitude for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
whose words, in his speech I Have A Dream,
inspired his poem. )