we stand at the edge of history,
one foot mired in ignorance,
another forcefully placed
in knowledge,
a wealth of information
once the purview of
a ridiculously small proportion
of the human race,
now hovers within everyone’s grasp
our ancestors,
forced blind, turned insular
by the multiplicity of things
beyond their ken,
wrote laws that served them
and their much smaller worlds
but we,
we float on a sea of information,
a global network of wisdom
lies within a finger’s touch;
our world is more than
the length of a few days walk,
more than the homogeneity
of a closed population
we can no longer hide
behind the veil of ignorance,
we possess the tools
to dispel the night,
to usher in a new dawn
so pick up that mired foot,
set it on the path
to understanding,
leash your prejudices,
give a second to reason and judge,
the data, the truth is within grasp
let yourself see humanity for what it is
the geographies of a smile
know no boundaries,
the trust of a child
catalyses the same warmth,
a loving word feels the same
in every language
see beyond the mere facades
that separate us
into genders, races, castes;
beyond mere peccadilloes,
or choices or predilections,
look beyond the skin
and you will see
in their cores
humans are humans are humans
so let us band together
in understanding,
to build on the gifts
this age of knowledge
has given us,
reach with empathy
to the core of humanity,
acknowledge each other
together we will be
the mountain
no storm can shake,
together we will be
the foundation
of a true golden age,
where we are all known
by one epithet only
human
Photo by Paul Blenkhorn in Unsplash
