Poem #9--Every Human is a Song

Every Human is a Song

I gazed in fury at the sight before me,

Nothing was ever so wrong.

For there, cowering at the feet of three bullies

Was a mournful, dying Song.

This Song was not expressed with words or feelings,

It was a human just like you and me.

Every human is a Song,

We’d notice if we stopped to see.

This Song was neither gallant nor great.

In fact, it was slow and unsure.

The human was suffering a terrible disease

That made it so its mind would not stir

This Song was not intelligent,

People called it mentally slow.

And yet the bullies chose to pick on the weak,

And to them, the Song was way down low.

They called it names that pierced my heart,

They pulled its hair ‘til it ripped out,

And nobody stood to help the Song

As it gave one final shout.

Every human is a Song.

Some are loud, and some are soft,

But this Song was slow and weak,

It needed something to hold it aloft.

When at last the bullies fled,

I watched to see if anyone would come

But nobody stopped to help it out,

Or even to see what had been done.

I walked up to that dying Song,

And helped it to its feet.

I spoke to the Song to keep it alive.

My voice was kind and sweet.

It looked at me and feebly smiled.

I felt a tear roll down my face.

It said, “Thank you for what you’ve done”

And then silently left at its own pace.

Every human is a Song;

If we’d just stop to see,

And listen to each other’s Songs,

 I would choose this place to be.

-Karl Southwick 

All around us are people who are very different from us. There are people of different sizes, different colors, different backgrounds. However, though we are all so different in so many ways, it is important to note that we are all fundamentally the same. We are all human. There is no reason to treat anyone less than you treat anyone else, no matter how different from you they may seem. So what if a person has something that makes them different from you? So what if their skin is a different color? So what if their eyes or hair don't match yours? So what if they have some limiting factor, such as a mental disorder? None of these facts change the fact that they are human, and none of these things give us a reason to treat them with any less respect than a human being deserves. We truly are beautiful creatures, every one of us, for we were created in the image of God. Let's treat each other accordingly.