I’m a few days late with May’s Poem of the Month, but I think it is a good one… one worth waiting for.

With Covid-19 there has been an opportunity to sit back and assess the current situations in the world today. Somehow, we’ve been fooling ourselves that things will get better on their own. We seem to think that the economy will turn around; the deaths from the pandemic will lessen all over the world, and we will be able to go back to “the way things were” before Covid broke out.

Well, it’s probably not likely that things will be the same at all. And, the quarantining we’ve all been doing has given some of us an opportunity to take stock of our global situation. Yes, Global! Our country is not in this alone… we share the burden of fixing things with peoples in every culture, every country. And it begins by being honest with ourselves. How do we really feel about things? And, are we being true to what we feel? And, furthermore, are we willing to “Stand Up” and be counted?

Something to ponder…

STAND UP

It takes courage to stand up for what you believe
To be true and honest and right!
Yet, it is said that if you don’t stand up.
Wrong will win out, without a fight.

Have the courage to say “No!” Have the courage to face the truth.
Do the right thing because it is right!
Living your life with integrity takes work,
But do it! Do it with all of your might!

It is said that if you don’t stand for something
You’ll fall for anything that sounds true;
But a wise person proportions his belief to the evidence:
Check your sources, do your homework, take the long view.

In politics, if a party stands for nothing but reelection,
Then it indeed stands for nothing worth much.
The world suffers a lot because of the silence
Of the good people who use timidness as a crutch.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
About things that matter to us, and to the planet.
We might place ourselves in danger when we stand,
But place our children in greater danger when we don’t.

Oh, one more thing about taking a stand:
Be polite, don’t raise your voice, be firm.
Remember, what you believe will depend on what you are.
Let people know, and if need be, reconfirm.