Immovable, Movable, and Those That Move

Once a prompt asked me: Ben Franklin once said, 'All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.' Which are you? When I first read this I thought of a sad movie And one half of the audience would be moved, and the tears would stream down their face And the other half were immovable They were unable to feel the emotions, unable to be moved to tears Their faces remained like statues as they scoffed at the violins and the tombstones And the makers of the movie were the ones who moved, at least half of the audience. On second read I thought of politicians I thought of those who were the “movers and shakers” The ones who went out and DID something The rare politicians that did not care if they were re-elected as long as they DID something And then I thought of the movables The ones who try to please their bases And slap smiles on their faces and get the money for their re-election Because they didn’t offend anyone Or do anything In their first term. Then there are the immovable Who don’t “reach across the aisle” And we all hear about it on the news. On the third read I thought that I better answer the question being asked. Am I movable? Well, yes When a teacher asks me to do something, I do it When a homeless person asks for money, I give it If I was old enough, I would go out and vote I am moved to tears When Dumbo can’t reach his mother And when my dad talks about when he thought his cancer had come back so he took me to see “Mulan” for what he thought was the last time Am I immovable? I always refuse people’s cigarette offers And I didn’t stop applying when people tell me that I cannot get accepted to all these universities I did not move when my friends thought I was ridiculous for being on top of my game in freshman year band Because I knew that the audition for Drum Major started the first time I walked through that door But do I also move? When I play a solo on my saxophone, I try to move people When I write a poem or paint a painting I’m trying to move others My friends and family were moved when I won my awards and led the band When I tell my friends to stop smoking and start applying and go out and vote I’m trying to move When that girl privately thanked me for speaking up for people on welfare in our mock government meeting I think she was moved. I think I moved one of my friends so well That she wrote her Common App essay regarding how I helped her become a better her. These are pretty menial things in the long run but they are very important to me. To answer the question, no person is just one It’s the one we choose to embrace at the right moments that is important I am all three.