Friday, March 10, 2017

Mettle

We dance and we leap,
paint fine facial features, sing arias,
build bridges, streets and cityscapes.
We tend to our children
and the weakest among us.

We kill and we creep,
go along to get along, justify,
demolish subtle ideas.
We abandon ourselves
like an addict exhausted.

Capable of everything possible
we can be magnificent,
and also we can
lose conscience and tenacity.
Calls for optimism become

some long lost book
of famous last words
found buried deep in rubble
by anthropological sorts
in a future to be determined.

No mettle, compassion, or commitment to love
constitutes a cycle of abuse.

Look at pictures of armies for tyrants
and civilizations that fall to the will—
some for lack of support, some may surmise
that some dictated end justifies
fueling the hate, and Hate lies.

So: No.
Mettle, compassion, and commitment to love.
Break the cycle of abuse.

Look at pictures of activists for peace
and societies that stand up to the cruel—
some for show of support, some may surmise
that what speaks for our species thrives
in nurturing empathy, and Empathy arrives.

Yes.
Mettle.
Compassion, and commitment to love break the cycle of abuse.
We dance and we leap
in a future to be determined.