I saw two men fuming,

Both ready to strike;

Each one focusing

On what he didn’t like

About what he saw

In the other man’s face --

About what was wrong

With the whole human race.

 

The man on the left,

With fists clenched so tight,

Was ready to kill

The man on the right.

The one on the right

Was equally hot

And swore to destroy

This man and his lot.

 

But as I stood there

Alarmed by this sight,

My eyes viewed the scene

In a different light.

The longer I stared

At these two angry souls,

The more it appeared

They had similar goals --
 

And similar needs,

And similar cares,

And a burning desire

To protect what was theirs.

In fact, when I took

A much closer view,

The reflections they cast

Were similar too.

 

The world is a mirror

That we choose not to see;

Instead we are blind

To what makes a man free.

It’s freedom from hatred,

And freedom from war,

And accepting a truth

That we cannot ignore:

 

We’re equal at birth

And equal at death;

And throughout our lives,

There’s only a breath

That separates us

From all that we see.

And clouds what we are:

The same -- you and me.

 

                               -- George M. Gingerelli
                                           © March 2005