Doug Anderson: Questions

Can you be kind

can you forgive petty things

and even some bad ones

Can you see the wisdom of Horace

I Am Human Therefore Nothing Human is Alien to Me

Can you pull back the camera

and see the seething hive of disaster we are

Will you live your whole life like a coiled spring

Will you stay in your cave no, not a real cave

but the one you carry around

Do you blame me for what happened to you

in the house of your childhood

Can we inhabit the room of thou

and be silent together

Can you be touched   no, not on your body

Can my heart’s light light yours even for a moment

Do you care that others have suffered

have lived longer    have more scars

and still they love

Do you think I’m from another country   another planet

Do you think I’m a bad man because I want to hold you

against my heart brush   the hair from your face

Are you afraid love will explode and disorder your life

Do you fight against it

Won’t you take off your mask   no, not that mask

but the one you’ve made with the muscles of your face

a shield of hide    can you let it go

can you hear me, be present for me

can you say with me All Lives Are Hard

Copyright 2022 Doug Anderson

511 Cathedral Parkway, NYC (photo by Doug Anderson)