All of us

People hurl at us with words,
From behind their glass barriers.
You understand not why
You believe for no reason.

At work. At play.
Because we spoke
because we moved
contrary to their wishes.

There is too much grey
even black, around us.
Many are the times
when we seek the sunlight.

There is the joy of children,
Fresh laughter. Happiness.
Total joy
and much pleasure.

Yet watch a child
at play with another.
They fight to keep
what is theirs. They never give.

There is the joy of fresh love,
But how long is it
since we, any, felt
that joy?

A long time
we are companions.
It is a long road to go
down those decades together.

But how many of us believe
that we have fully walked
those fifty years
always together?

Yet we are happy
when we enjoy our friends.
And our families.
Laughter, sunshine,
Many small things

We seek the new
of this world
with enthusiasm. We remember
the old with nostalgia.

That gives us
contentment, and a
fleeting warmth.
Is that enough

to overcome
those who would deny that warmth
from behind their desks, their
steering wheels, their grey hearts?




Entered in Poetry Australia, March 18, 2002

Read at Live Poets