if only the world were a little kinder,

no old men starving in the streets,

no Vietnam vets struggling to survive

after they gave their sanity to a war they didn’t want.

if only the world were a little kinder,

no homeless LGBTQ+ kids laying in gutters,

begging for someone to show them the love

their parents refused to give.

if only the world were a little kinder,

no teenagers crossing their arms over their chests,

no cries of ‘enough is enough’

because they shouldn’t have to beg for their lives.

if only the world were a little kinder,

no unarmed black children pinned down in the streets,

no inherent fear of the system that should protect them,

because they know it won’t.

if only the world were a little kinder,

no refusal to care for someone foreign,

no denial of food and human necessities to a refugee,

“Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me”.

if only the world were a little kinder,

we sigh and say in bitter tones.

it is not the world that needs to be kind,

no, rather it is humanity.

the world is kinder than we are,

it houses and feeds us,

yet we deny the same love to each other.

if only we were a little kinder.