Us

Becky Payton and I

Many men are at times misled

as most could be thought of as blind

Measuring by what they won't do

instead of to whom they were kind

Attempting to build an empire

judging themselves by what they deny

Thinking them best who resist temptation

be it a crime for a man to cry

No hungered child is a lost soul

nor a beggar be taught how to live

By preaching morals to the poor

we take from whom we should give

Goodness is not what we won't do

nor a question of who we exclude

It is an unselfish act of Humanity

to see ourselves in those we include

Author's Note

How many times do we walk by those we could so easily help?

Reviews

[Charles]

Five stanzas of near perfect poetry. Each stanza is a self-contained lesson (parable) and they are tied together by the title and pictures. The styles of individual lines are consistently interesting (stilted language in some ways, archaic in other ways, but all working together for the overall effect of the theme). And, a good theme - God's work (if you think God needs an apostrophe to help His work, check line 16. Great work on this one.

[Siddartha Beth Pierce]

Stellar thoughts and sentiment. It reminds me of a quote by Georgia O'Keefe:

'None sees a flower really - it is too small - and to see takes times, like to have a true friend takes time.'

How often, indeed, do we pass by the flowers, these people without even a word or notion?
Thank you.
Light,
SiddARTha

[Jessi Raine is falling]

I really liked this, and there are so many we could help that we dont...

[Havatara]

Amen

[vandana]

Goodness is not what we won't do
nor a question of who we exclude
It is an unselfish act of Humanity
to see ourselves in those we include

Being humane is a rare act indeed. I liked reading the last stanza because of the thought provoking message on humanity.

[just rose.]

an amazingly important theme expressed in a way that appeals to both conscience and spirit. great poem.

[Abhinav]

ahh, this was lovely, and agree with Charles, 'Five stanzas of near perfect poetry'
loved the highlighted message and the way you expressed it...

[S.G.]

I agree with you, we often walk by or even worse we just stand by. My boss once told me that this country thinks it's helping the poor but it's only helping the lazy. Homeless people can't apply for any financial help because they simply have no address, and instead we usually find it wiser to give money to those who already have it because we think they know better what to do with it? It confuses me a lot. I love the last line the most, as long as there is 'us' and 'them' there will never be pure peace.

Thank you for this :)

[Ethan Paz]

A hard subject to swallow written in a perfect way. You have talent to convey a message very powerfully.

[Joy Lynn B.]

Bravo!!! I love this piece!! Keep writing!