River Flow: Poetry

Day 13

People

Mothers, stop telling your sons
That the world is a bad place
Fathers, stop shielding your daughters
From something you claim is scary
Open your eyes
Look around
The world isn't bad
The world isn't scary
It's really quite beautiful
No, it's the people
Living in it
Who are bad and scary

Not all of them
I would never claim all of anything
Most people are friendly
Most people look for good
Most people wouldn't kill for fun
Most people lean towards
Mother Teresa on the scale
Rather than, say, Hitler
But that doesn't mean
The others aren't there
And those are the people
That make the most impact

Why is it
That we rarely hear
Of someone starting a nonprofit
To save orphans
From abusive fosters
But everyone knows
When a gun is whipped out
And people,
Good people,
Are killed?
Because the strange people
Are the bad ones
Because we are all
Innately good
So when someone is bad
The whole world turns to see
Who was it
Where did it happen
Why are they different
Different

You know, even the good people
Have a darkness inside
I'm sure Mother Teresa was
Uncomfortable living in Calcutta
But she pushed through that
And loved everyone anyway
Unlike Hitler
Who, anyone that made him
Uncomfortable
He mercilessly killed
It's not that good people
Are always good
It's just that
They refuse to act on the bad
Some people are better than others

As human beings
There is something in us
That makes us believe
We have a right
To judge other human beings
And we tend to point fingers
At those who are different
Strange
We can't really help it
Even good people
Dislike homosexuals
Even good people
Dislike a race
Even good people
Dislike the opposite political view
Even good people
Dislike a religion
And they can't help it
That's the way they've been taught
But guess what
If they are really good?
They will keep those feelings inside
And smile at the LGBTQ community
They will hide them away
And help a black man cross the street
They will swallow them whole
And acknowledge the others points
They will cover up their inner selves
And respect someone in prayer
And these, truly, are the good people
Not the ones
That have it easier
And "don't hate" anybody
The better people
Are those that dislike
But still love