The Good Heart

("The Heart of It #4", 2007, original oil) The Good Heart My hunch is probably everyone thinks they have a good heart Since we are all humans with some degree of empathy. But while it’s empathy that makes us feel good helping others It's also empathy that leads us to lynch them. And it’s shown that when push comes to shove Nine out of ten of your good-hearted neighbors Will lynch you if you threaten their peace and security And end up on their sh*t list. So there is the paradox of being human, That even the good habitually do bad And even if we are in agreement That we are good or share good intentions (say, to benefit and avoid harming others) Then what we each choose to do In the cause of the good Will often be different Even drastically so. This paradox is what divides nations, Families, political parties and religions. It is what divides us within us, What gives us doubt and confusion, And ultimately makes us The humans we are. But that one out of ten Who doesn’t join the lynching, Now, that’s the human we should aspire To become. (1/6/24)