Crossing the land, faster than any bug
Are the plaints of people needing a hug
Viewing from a distance, by Skype or by Zoom
Simply doesn’t equate to being in the same room.

No phone call, no email can really replace
The joy of setting eyes on a loved one’s face
Sometimes I weep, by love swept away
No words ever express all that I long to say.

Sometimes too, I find myself weeping
At “stuff” that into my life keeps creeping
Awareness of disasters happening to others
To humans I consider my sisters and brothers.

It may well be that personally, I’m not to blame
Yet how can I see misery and not feel shame?
The Uighurs, Rohingya, the refugees spread far and wide
How can I ignore them, yet still hold my head up in pride?
How can I ignore the battered, those beaten down close to home?
Impoverished and incapacitated, right here, they daily roam.

I know full well that I am not alone
As I gnaw at small comforts, like a dog with a bone
Desperate for consolation, for the promise of spring
Not just in nature, but improvements the future will bring.

As humans, there are some things we do quite well
But in other ways, we’ve created sheer hell
Environmental degradation, economic disparities, these we must not ignore
Positive change is possible, and each one of us could probably do more.

While today is much better than the recent past
When hatreds ran rampant, and wars followed fast
I fear complacency, the search for distraction
When what is needed is human action.

Action to build networks, cooperation between lands
Action to build bridges, and allow us to hold hands
Action to value differences, to respect one another
Actions to snuff out bad “isms”, and all violence to smother.

Our dichotomies divide us, when we need to reach out
Hateful messages many leaders continue to spout
But we must not allow their whispers in our hearts to grow
Be kind! Love thy neighbour! These truths we know.