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BANANAS

The banana is a delicious fruit.

It’s elongated…curved…and kind of cute

It’s true all bananas are called bananas

they all share the banana name

but when we look more closely…we notice

no two bananas are the same. 

They can be long or short or fat or thin

some can be yellow…some are green

yet when someones says banana…

we know exactly what they mean.

Still, despite the differences in bananas

(if you need a reminder…see above)

the banana in all it’s diversity

is a fruit most of us love

We don’t care where they have come from…

or how they are transported

If they’re grown inside this country…

or if they are imported.

In truth whether we’re looking at them closely 

or seeing them from afar

we tend not to take any notice of how different all bananas are….

or even if we do notice…we never make a fuss

because the differences between bananas 

is meaningless to us.

Wouldn’t it be amazing in this country

from Main to California…from Texas to Montana

If we humans thought of other humans…

like we think of our bananas?

After listening to his final lesson 

the wise one was approached by a young woman and young man…

“We have a question.” they asked softly. 

He nodded, 

“I will answer it if I can.”

“We’ve listened to all your teachings.” They said

“We’ve taken them to heart.

You’ve taught us about beauty 

about friendship, love and art.” 

“You’ve taught us about acceptance and compassion

about how to have an open mind.

You’ve taught us about peace, 

about wisdom.

You’ve taught us to be kind.”

“We’ve listened and we’ve learned.” they said

“We’ve held on to your every breath.

Yet of all the subjects you have taught…

Yet you never speak of death?”

Their teacher looked at them and smiled, 

touched their shoulders 

then began to speak…

“Death eventually finds us.” he said…

“All the others…

we must seek.”

The last thing I do before I get into bed…is remove my glasses from my head.

When young my thinking was innocent…my emotions raw…I assumed everyone saw the world I saw.

I was never annoyed…I didn’t worry….I imagined everyone’s world turned just as blurry.

I thought every star faded from everyone’s view…I thought everyone’s world turned foggy too.

Being young at heart I theorized…at night the worlds colors harmonized.

As I prayed the lord my soul to keep…I assumed this was how the world did sleep.

Looking back now I have to scoff…at my first thought with my glasses off.

How naive and innocent could I be…to think everyone saw the world like me!

Now that I’m older I know this to be true…that there are many visions…many points of view.

Still every night as I get ready for bed…when I remove my glasses from my head.

as the colors of people, their shapes and their size…all blend together…all harmonize…

with my glasses off I must proclaim……how, to me, everybody looks the same…

So with may glasses off it makes me think…the world looks so much more in sync.

It’s a nice feeling when the day is done…to see how the world blends together as one…

And it leads me to wonder what kind world this would be…if everyone saw the way I see. 

Would we all rejoice…or we scoff…if just for a moment…we took our glasses off.

I do not like the word different…it cuts too much like a knife

It adds to the trouble in our world…it causes so much strife.

When we see someone as different fear seeps into our minds

and where there’s fear…animosity and prejudice are never far behind.

What starts out merely as a way to tell that person apart from you or me

somehow ends up with people treating one another differently.

We end up in a word of labels, a world of discrimination and entropy.

A world of injustice, a world of oppression, of wars and bigotry. 

A world where suspicion and distrust rule and seeds of animosity are sown 

all caused when we find traits in people that are different from our own.

What if we looked at one another in a completely different way?

What if there is a word that would keep our fear at bay?

What if we weren’t afraid of diversity but reveled in it’s mystique

and instead of seeing others as different…we saw them as unique?

Perhaps then, in each life, we might focus on the good things that we see

and in the end create a world filled with peace and harmony.

I imagine by now many of you are thinking this man is different, he’s a freak

but I suggest I am not different…I, like you, am totally unique!

(Did you notice when you called me different a host of negatives abound

but when you use the word unique...see how wonderful I sound?)

It seems to me we should strive for a world where differences are not critiqued…

a world where people are more accepting…

now wouldn’t that be unique!

When our first child is born

we celebrate the day

at that moment we don’t care

if they are bi or straight or gay

We only care they are alive…

have all their body parts...

that they are breathing on their own…

and come with healthy hearts.

And each time we are blessed with a child

we celebrate that day

still not caring at that moment

if they are bi

or straight

or gay.

We only care that they are close to us…

that in their lives we play a part

that they all have gentleness in their souls…

and kindness in their hearts

And so parents of the world I ask this question: 

As we think back to our initial vow…

If we didn’t care when they were born…

Why should we care now?

Though we come from different places

different cultures…have different faces

and we may not understand what each of us is saying

who we love, the way we live or to whom or how we’re praying

I hope one day we’ll understand…and happily exclaim

despite our undeniable differences…

we’re basically the same

How the love that brought us into this world…

still plays an important role

as caretaker of our heart and keeper of our soul.

How there is a universal language…

perhaps handed down from up above

a language spoken without words…

a language we call love.

But there is another universal language

that has reared it’s head of late

It too can be spoken without words…

a language we call hate.

These two languages are currently in a battle…

we have reached a ‘D Day’ state

and the final outcome of this battle 

will determine all our fates…

For only one can...

the other has to loose

So the question for the world becomes…

which language will you choose?

A morning stroll along the beach, just the two of us, walking hand in hand

when I found myself enchanted by all the footprints in the sand.

It was beautiful how the sun met the water and the water met the land

but I felt myself mesmerized by all those footprints in the sand.

They came in all shapes and sizes…they were everywhere I scanned…

an endless overlap of footprints…blending together in the sand

I had no way of knowing…if it was a woman or a man

If they were made by someone young or old…these footprints in the sand.

Was their skin black or white or yellow…red, or pink or tanned?

could not be determined from these footprints in the sand.

What was their religion?  Were they from here or some other land?

These I could not ascertain from mere footprints in the sand.

Were they single…or was their partner a woman or a man?

Information not to be discovered from footprints in the sand..

And I wondered if we judged people only by their footprints in the sand

would we still have prejudice and bigotry…

would people still be ridiculed or banned?

Would hatred still flow as easily across our seas and land…

or would we find a way to blend together…

like footprints in the sand?

I love the way I see the world...

so it should come as no surprise...

I wish everyone who sees the world...

would see it through my eyes.

But, alas, 

That’s not how we’re created...

so it should come as no surprise...

everybody sees the world...

through a different set of eyes.

and that can make the world so interesting...

so beautiful...

so free...

provided we are willing to accept...

the world that others see.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON MOTHER’S DAY

We marched on Mother’s Day to protest children being held in detention centers

In a country we think has gone awry

We marched for children being treated as prisons

We marched to ask the question…Why?

We marched for children who were not welcomed here

Instead…in glorified cages we hide them away

Where they sit confused and sad and lonely

separated from their mothers…on Mother’s Day.

Or any day for that matter…

and it makes my heart go numb

remembering how proud I once was of my country…

and seeing what we’ve become.

Where once a mighty woman with a torch

shone her light for the world to see

we once welcomed anyone into our country

anyone yearning to be free…

As we made our peaceful march

carrying signs pleading for children to be free

I saw mothers with their families in restaurants,

enjoying the park…even climbing in old Banyon trees.

And I couldn’t help thinking about those other children…

the ones our country has hidden away…

In a detention center here in Florida

separated from their mothers…on Mother’s Day.

It’s true that mighty woman is still standing

but now I’m filled with doubt…

for I believe if you look closely

her torch light has gone out.

But I won’t give up on it ever shining again

I won’t surrender…I won’t quit

with a little acceptance and compassion

her light can be relit.