Welcome to my ‘mid-monthly poetic reflections.’ This month I’m sending you two poems on the theme of transcending differences of
identity and realising our common core, where there is no distinction between us. The first is my most recent poem, ‘If the human race forgot itself for a moment.’ I’ve coupled this with an older, unpublished poem called ‘The Common Core.’ At the present time, there seems to be something of a resurgence in nationalism around the world, with different national and ethnic identities trying to assert themselves, in otherness to each other. So these poems are reminders that, in reality, there is no
otherness. Differences are only created by thought - and at a deeper level, the impulse to create them stems from a separate and fragile ego, and its need for reinforcement and affirmation.
If the human race forgot itself for a moment
If the human race forgot itself for a moment
and the past disappeared like a dream,
every other species would be startled
as a strange new silence fell over the Earth
and the madness that they are so accustomed to
subsided, just for a moment.
If the human race forgot itself for a moment
we would let go of ancient grudges
and be unable to tell enemies and friends apart.
Soldiers would suddenly drop their weapons
wondering why they were fighting their brothers;
religious zealots would stop ranting mid-sentence
wondering why they were telling so many lies.
If the human race forgot itself for a moment
the labels that define and separate us
would crumble to pieces, like paper masks
and centuries of fixed ideas that have ossified millions of minds
would blow away, like dead leaves from a tree
leaving us with nothing, but what we really are -
which is no different from each other.
If the human race forgot itself for a moment
we would offload our resentment, be purified of our bitterness
and shadows of guilt would stop stalking us
and we would dance with lightness and glee, as if spring has come.
And then we would look around and be amazed
at the strange beauty of a pristine new world
that we only ever saw through a dense, distorting prism.
For a moment the human heart will be pure,
and for a moment the human race will be at peace.
The Common Core
I don't sense that you’re different from me
even if you believe you are.
I don’t believe that babies are born with distinctions,
belonging to a religion or nation.
I don’t believe that human beings die with distinctions,
belonging to different sections of a cemetery.
I don’t feel that I have my ‘people’ and you have yours,
and that the lives of our peoples have a different value.
I acknowledge your need to define yourself.
I understand your need for belonging
but you can’t separate yourself from me
without making yourself feel more alone.
You can’t withhold your empathy from me
without hurting yourself inside.
Your thoughts may convince you of distinctions
but they can’t change you underneath
where there is no solidity or boundary
and our beings infuse each other, and everyone else’s too.
I accept allegiance only to the human race.
I recognise only our common core
the essence
beneath identity
the deep shared space where we are one.
All best wishes, Steve
