On the Spot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
I once saw a woman - clearly not young, but not old either - sent sprawling by a man in a hurry, weaving in and out of crowds on a busy railway concourse while chatting on his mobile phone at the same time. The offender didn’t even stop.
Several of us who had witnessed the incident rushed to help the victim to her feet; she was badly shaken, but fortunately unhurt while displaying a stoicism and spirit worthy of admiration. "Some people, they just don't care!" she sobbed. "Thank you everyone," she added, "...it's good to see there's some kindness and consideration left in the world. Mark my words, we'll all pay the price for the lack of it one way or another...
ON THE SPOT
Need to take a pride
in my life, chance any free fall,
all but driven mad
for having so lost my way
in bad times
Shouldn't stay, but I
do,
if only because I
shouldn't care,
but I do, I do, I do,
and mind-body-spirit says
“Yes, yes, YES.”
Could make a run for
it,
but it's my world too,
owes me
for being innocent
until proven human, if only
by default
Could throw the
fight,
since no guarantees, win or lose;
could try praying,
but if I can't believe in myself,
who can?
Time, cracking the
whip;
humankind ever at its beck and call
for going any distance,
made responsible for whatever
on the way
Humanity, making
history...
claiming its spoils of
war and peace
as par for the course
by way of reasoning
the politics
of power
World without end, its poets
would have us believe, repudiating
humanity's suspicion
that its kinder arts but tell
tall tales
Life and Death, putting us all
on the spot, having
us make the case
for salvation,
or concede mind-over-matter
its potential
R. N. Taber 2019; rev.2021
[Note: This poem began as a revised version of an earlier poem - Humanity, on
the Spot’ - that I first wrote and posted on the blog a couple of years ago; it
has since been deleted. I ended up changing it out of all recognition and
giving it a new title.] RT
Labels: global consciousness, hope, human nature, human spirit, life forces, love, optimism, personal space, poetry, positive thinking, self-awareness, self-confidence, society
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