Sometimes in 2019, young leaders across Africa came together to publish a book of poetry with the theme “A BETTER WORLD: Hope from Africa”.
My poem, Empathy, appeared on page 25. The ebook is available for free on Issuu. It is also available on Kobo.
“These poems and these leaders speak with the African drumbeat felt underfoot and emulate our centuries old oral traditions; they remind us that it is never too late to reach out, to take a step and to take a stand.” ~ Athol Williams, South African Poet and Social Philosopher
EMPATHY
I was a treasure hunter
In search of the magic wand
To wave across the sky of the human mind
And clear the existential damage
Of anti-earth politics
In my journeys of discovery
To cultures of the skin and the mind
Across foreign lands and local seas
In sickness and in health
I found no perfect answers or magic wand
All I found was empathy
Laid on the bare cold floor
Shorn of skin and bereft of attention
Relegated to the sidewalk
Of humanity’s struggle for sanity
In nurturing empathy, I learned
To become what others are
Without losing my own identity
To put myself in the place of others
To break human glass ceilings
How hard can it be
To show love to the air you breathe
Or the rare, beautiful birds that you see?
How much does it hurt
To love without fixation on colors?
To be liberal or conservative is human
To live without empathy is not