What If You Had Chosen Compassion?

What if you had paused,

thought about what really mattered,

thought about the people who cared for you despite differences in points of view?

What if you had stuck with it,

leaned on a benefit of the doubt instead of going all in on shoving me out?

What if you had reserved lenses of speculation

for the corporations, media companies and organizations

who chase down every dime gathered through divisive damnation?

Why did you put on those lenses when you looked at me?

Why did you choose to dehumanize a human who took you,

human and all,

for all your flaws, faults, and steps off course;

everything in stride and showed you remorse?

No remorse for the “others” I suppose.

Not when politics are injected like the serum in your body that has us all disaffected.

Lost, blindfolded in a world no longer recognizable

to the ones who care less about making profits more sizable

and more about filling the hearts, minds, and eyes

with love until they’re full and shed their disguise.

What if after it’s all said and done you came humbly to my door to say you’re sorry?

What if I accepted and only cared to see your face again?

What if we met the present with a clock that ticked a few years ago,

took that time to rewind our minds and remind our hearts what these tears are for?

What if you chose compassion today, right now?

We lay like pieces missing to humanity’s puzzle;

let’s stop talking to each other like we both need a muzzle,

reorganize our human parts,

assemble them into works of art,

commemorate what drove us apart

and mark today as tomorrow’s start.