Each Man's Mind

Up looking down, or down looking up,

From a birds eye view or the eyes of a pup,

We are surrounded by struggles and strife;

By tax forms or heartache or the threat of a knife.

Hunger and bombs flood the world en masse.

Corrupt laws by high ended congresses pass.

A child's home is fraught with dangers,

Where the drink and the fist have never been strangers.

This is the state of the world we call home

Along with the everyday points we bemoan.

But even in this myriad of evil and sin

There's still more to be found, out looking in.

The lonely hearts and blackened minds

cry in the dark for release from confines.

Where once there was light and promise and joy,

There lies broken lives and the will to destroy.

It would be foolish to try to insist

That atrocities such as these could be fixed.

Inherent in man is his greed and his pride.

For every good will there's a much darker side.

But with will and a goal and some hard work too

There's something, though small, that you can do.

No matter the brains or the strength that you've lacked,

You've always been gifted the power to act.

Darkness, depression, and despots kill

only when those who oppose them sit still.

And while it is true they will always exist,

Make sure that your name is not on that list.

So what would I change, when given the chance?

Though young and naive and full of romance,

I would change the eye of each man's mind

To see their lives if they chose to be kind.