This poem was prompted by the view of a large army vehicle yesterday during a walk I took on Cape Cod. This large army vehicle, with a variety of messages painted on it made me think about whether the things that we have in common are enough to unite us. Our divisions in this country are so deep. How often do we consider what unites us?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
We both drive cars
Our vehicles have four wheels, a steering wheel
We both sit on chairs and eat at tables
Use knives, forks and spoons
Listen to music and to the radio
We both love our country
We both breathe the same air, feel the same breeze
Talk and argue, look and listen
We see the same storms and are fans of the same teams
See snow in the winter and lightening in the summer
We both call our friends and complain when things go wrong
Rejoice when things go right
We both swim in the ocean and breathe the same air
We both cry when we are sad and laugh when things are funny
We both walk and run, fast and slow
We both sleep every night, we both wake up in the morning
I'll go out on a limb and say I'll bet we both like ice cream
We both have children and cousins and brothers and sisters
And aunts and uncles and grandparents and moms and dads
We both love our children and our pets
We both shop at the market and get gas in our cars
We both wear coats in the winter and shorts in the summer
Gloves and boots, sunglasses and hats
We probably both drink coffee and shop at the same markets
We both stare at the same sky and moon and stars
We both value freedom
We both love liberty
We both love our country
We both admire our flag
We both listen or read the news
But here we differ
Your news is different than my news
Your reality is different from mine
I don't know you
You don't know me
We exist in the same space and have so much in common
But we see past each other
Look askance, villainize each other
Curse each other, pretend that the other doesn't exist
Or is a thorn in our side
We don't learn from our mistakes
We forget the lessons of our childhoods
Not to throw stones, not to make fun
Our paths seldom, if ever meet
For all we have in common
How can we be so far apart
We live so close but our beliefs are so different
We both believe in liberty, in justice for all
Turn a coin one way or the other, it's still a coin
Turn a belief one way or the other and it sets us in orbit
Each to our own universe and maybe, just maybe
Each to our own destruction
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