Three Wishes
If I had three wishes, I'd wish the whole world blind.
That poverty and hunger befall all of humankind.
That every creature lose the thing their heart adores the most.
That every strength and skill be taken so no mouth can try to boast.
I'd bid each individual be lost - a lonely, yearning soul.
That every body be taken ill, let diseases take their toll.
Let fires burn and floods abound - loose nature on us all.
Drop every mortal to their knees; let every human fall.
And when we all have had enough, when each heart can understand
I'd wish it all away again, reach out and touch a hand.
For once you've lost your sight, what does color even mean?
And once you feel the pain of hunger, once your body's been unclean,
once you've begged and gotten nothing, eaten garbage you could find -
is it really very difficult to give time, money, be KIND?
When your heart's been intimate with deepest grief and sorrow
It's easy sharing hope with one another for tomorrow.
Once we truly understood, another person's pain
Our response could be so different, we could finally break hate's chain.
In place of rage or judgement, instead of greed or apathy
I'd wish us all a loving heart, compassion, grace, and empathy.
jennifer Malden
Tue 14th Nov 2017 13:27
Great poem. Beautiful Language and rythm. Indifference has always been the cause of, or at least not helped to avoid, suffering.
Jennifer