Making a Difference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber 

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, ty sleeping with a mosquito." - Dalai Llama

Too often we underestimate the effect of the little things we do to try and make the lives of others that much better, but it is always worth remembering any kindnesses we perform may well have the effect of sending a message of goodwill which, in turn, may well be passed on and on and on... across generations, for all we know. 

Sadly, though, much the same can also be said for any acts of spite.

Now, we all make mistakes, of course, but while eighteenth century poet Alexander Pope may well have been spot on when he wrote "To err is human..."* it is no excuse for antisocial behaviour.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Will a fallen angel
pick on me and drag me away
or will a gentler spirit have mercy,
come Judgement Day?

Will a wolfish Death
delight in tearing me apart
or strike suddenly if no less cleanly
at my heart?

Will doves of peace
be left to wing eternal light
or an infernal dark, in other words,
out of mind, out of sight?

Not ours to know,
the how, where or when,
but encourage a grown any wiser self
to look and learn?

Dare we unite in peace
and love, let common sense
rule, or trust our leaders and betters
to do right by us?

The greater trust we have,
a brighter light likely shining
in ourselves and on each other, mutual
giving and taking

Where an endgame strategy
devised to put one over on us,
who dares, sees mind-body-spirit making,
all the difference

 Copyright R. N. Taber, 2002; rev. 2022

* From:: An Essay on Criticism, 1711.

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in my collection, First Person Plural, Assembly Books, 2002; it has been  considerably revised, however, and may not justify its being called a revised version.] RT