On Being Human
On Being Human
(violence — coward’s masque)
To walk as man is not to stand complete,
But bear a fracture no resolve can beat;
We move with hunger braided into care,
And fear beside the love we would repair.
The hand that shields may also learn to strike,
The tongue that heals may wound the soul alike;
For mercy and for cruelty contend
Within the same brief breath we would defend.
We speak of reason, yet are sway’d by flame,
And name our trembling virtues, not our shame;
The blow once dealt is call’d a rightful stand,
As though the heart had not advised the hand.
Thus violence, dressed well in cause or creed,
Pretends to serve what fear alone decreed;
It wears the mask of strength, but cannot hide
The smaller truth it dares not face inside.
Yet still, in fault and fracture, something stays—
A reaching toward the good we half-betray;
For even those who fall the farthest wrong
Retain a sense that harm is not their song.
To be human is to know this inward war,
And choose restraint where impulse urges more;
Not pure, nor safe, nor innocent of stain,
But answerable—to suffer, learn, refrain.
Thus judge not man by what he claims to be,
Nor by the myths that grant him certainty;
But mark him where he pauses, bruised and aware,
And chooses not to wound what he could tear.
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a
Premium Membership.
