Please,

By Cliff Lake

 

Please,

 

If you have a brain in working order,

If logic is not anathema,

If rationale has its attraction,

There are notions not possible for you.

You will not accept incoherent ramblings as proof of something.

You will not accept a proven lie as such either.

You will not accept a deflection as argument.

 

If you have a heart operating well,

If empathy does not taste foolish,

If you still truly feel,

There are states you cannot countenance.

You will not abide the mistreatment of other creatures.

You will not abide the cessation of care.

You will not abide the cackles of the oppressors.

 

If you have a soul that is not too begrimed,

If you have not succumbed to avarice,

If you still aspire to surpass yourself,

There are conventions you must decry.

You must lift up those that have fallen.

You must teach those that will hear.

You must reach out if you still have one good hand.

 

We are in this together,

Though it may seem that you are in the dark.

There is light to be found in an understanding eye,

There is truth that is told with the roughest tongue,

There is help to be found in the most common of places.

Be open to it.

Listen for the word that hits hard,

Truth is not easy, nor will it rest until it is found.

Do not turn away from what exposes you,

You need to see yourself – honesty begins there.

Do not rest in this world,

Predators leap when your back is turned.

Be a soldier for justice,

It will return to you when it must.

Kindness to all things cannot hurt you,

Indifference will reap its own dull reward.

Don’t be human,

Be humane.

 

Cliff Lake 8/24/2022

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2022

Location: Dalton, MA, USA

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