Blinded by successions of tragedies I am
Looking for you, your shape, your form,
Your essence, your substance, seeking your words,

Your embrace, your empathy, your courage,
Your sorrow, your grief, your resilience, your tears,
Your frustrated anger, the bravery of understanding,

The ancestral wisdom bestowed upon you,
The consciousness that naturally rises within you
Despite it all. The humaneness of which you are capable.

Humanity, where are you?

Where are the freethinkers, the storytellers, the poets,
The revolutionaries, the heroes, the righteous leaders,
The doves who so gently quieten the hawks, the dreamers

Who once had a dream?

I see glimpses of you ever and anon, in strangers:
In the man offering a quilt to the homeless vagabond,
In the nurse dispensing caresses when all else fails,
In the sufferer smiling back at her with gratitude,
In the teacher trying to keep her calm,
In her lively pupils to whom control is unknown,
In the student of nature attempting to figure out the world,
In the excited curious Joe eager to share his thoughts,
In the mother lulling another woman’s child,
In the teary boy who chipped his knee falling from a bicycle,
In the exhausted back-broken farmer lamenting “land is low”,
In the weary nightly worker kissing his wife at dawn,
In cries of despair and happy laughters
I see glimpses of you ever and anon.

I ignore the location of the lair in which you have chosen
To take refuge and hide but I need you so please know,
I will keep on waiting for you open arms and in the meantime

I will keep watch, because
Humanity, I love you.

[Featured painting: Chasing the Dream by Jimmy Lawlor]