An Ode to Humaternity

(dedicated to a man of wisdom and perserverance,
the much misunderstood John Lennon)

Oh, friends, I'm very ill,
in mind and body
and often I can't wait till
death sets me free.

But that's only a feeling,
neither false nor true,
and soon I'll likely feel as tall as the ceiling
and have a different point of view.

The other day I was walking home,
and a smiling red-faced hobo
asked me if I could spare a brew;
I couldn't but I did,
as I've helped so many through their need,
while wealthier folk prosper in their greed;
But this is only a niggard illusion,
like the rising of the sun
real enough for you or I,
but in the bigger picture an absurd lie.

For even in the days before wheels and iron,
cave-men had to hang together
to escape the fangs of hunger, beasts and weather;
and now in this age of lab-woven fur
and flight without feather,
as the world rests after weary decades of glorified battle-field murder,
the need for humaternity can no longer be denied;
and those "gentry" who obstinately hoard the riches of the earth
shall fall to angry masses toughened by oppression and dirth.

We can no longer be free Americans
and wall out the hungry Mexicans,
and Norwegians breathe the same ozone
as the Russians and the Egyptains:
the globe cannot be dominated
by terrible nuclear guns,
because their secret is not so profound,
and the initiated are not united as one
but are drastically split
in culture, ideology, and religion
and there can be no monopoly on mass destruction.

But this reality isn't cause
for depression and despair;
there's no need to gnash teeth
or pull out our hair;
beneath the surface, this is news is good and fair,
and a spirit of true greatness is in the air.

For now that foggy war we simply can't afford,
innovative solutions must be explored;
each culture may for its accomplishments be adored,
and sharing, amity, and charity shall triumph over the sword.