Humanity

you choose what kind of man you'll be within this slavery

Study of Clouds with a Sunset near Rome (lanscape painting) by Simon Alexandre Clément Denis (circa 1786-1801)

I guess I'm not so different, after all,
from the politicians
who make bad decisions
or the citizens
with confused convictions. 

I guess I'm not so different, after all,
from the neighbor I called immature—
if I call someone that before knowing their name, 
I pour coals on my head in a foolish man's game. 

I guess I'm not so different, after all,
from the human conditions 
of the heroes I loved
or the misled ambitions
of the villains I loathed. 

I guess I'm not so different, after all,
from my enemies
and each virtue and vice's extremities. 

I guess I'm not so different ,after all,
from anything I want to be,
from everything I'm scared to be. 

And I guess you're not so different, after all, 
from the scattered names and faces, crowding books of history—
who all were born into a life that told them they were free
to choose what kind of man they'd be within this slavery.

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