The following was posted in February of last year, but it seemed very appropriate to copy it forward! If more people grasped the concepts noted in the poem, the world would surely be a much happier place.
“My Dream”
I dream of a day
When we’ll all be friends.
I dream, as I look at the stars,
That the world will see
That being valued and free
Is far better… than destruction and war.
***
I dream of a day
When my friends are yours.
Although perhaps from quite different lands.
That you understand
All colours and beliefs
Can live in peace. Can hold hands.
***
I dream of a day,
Hopefully not far away,
When compassion wins in the end.
We’re all human after all
And we all stumble and fall
So let’s help each other up… and be friends.
***
I dream of a day
When the killing has stopped,
And peace prevails at last.
Borders are open.
Old vendettas are forgotten.
Past beliefs? Well they will stay in the past.
***
I dream of a day…
But it is only a dream,
So many people will say.
Perhaps I am delusional?
Perhaps I am just a dreamer,
But to survive, we must find a way.
***
To break down barriers,
And to live together in peace.
It will be a challenge for some,
But why must we label
Our different neighbors?
Why can’t we become as one?
***
We all want respect.
We all want freedom.
Let’s open our eyes and see,
That we really do all want the same.
It’s really not complicated.
It’s peace… for you… and for me!
***
I dream of a day
When world peace is achieved,
And when the pen is the only weapon.
There will be universal love
And… to the power above I’ll say
“Thank you. Our Earth has now become Heaven.”
“My Dream” (together with so many other poems about various aspects of life) is included in my book “Just Thinking”. It is available in paperback, hard cover and eBook formats and can be purchased from all the regular on-line book retailers, or direct from the Friesen Press Bookstore. “Just Thinking” is a not-for-profit venture.
WE (my students and I) LOVED this poem. One girl asked if you were influenced on the opening my Reverend King’s “I Have a Dream.” I told her probably. What say you?
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Please thank the girl/young lady on my behalf for being curious enough to ask the question ……
Dear Young Lady who asked the question … the answer is yes and no.
Yes …. because that opening line by the Rev. King is so well known that I am sure that it influenced me, albeit at a subconscious level.
No …. because I was not thinking of the Rev. King’s famous speech when I wrote that poem. I have always been a bit of a dreamer, and my highlights during my school years tended to be in the creative arts subjects. During my teens, I was exposed to ‘Ban the Bomb’ marches and various other public CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) demonstrations. My life experiences later gave me a strong sensitivity to the less fortunate in our society …. being the depressed, the homeless, the discriminated against etc. etc.
My poem therefore was an attempt to express my belief that we really are all the same inside. We all have to overcome challenges. We all face some form of rejection at some time. We all want to feel valued. We will all have reasons to laugh, just as we will all have reasons to cry. The poem was intended to highlight that the only real difference between us all is the superficial exterior.
I could probably write a book on the subject, but to summarize my thoughts. A person should only be assessed by what they do, and never assessed by how they look. We should never, ever, be negative about a person unless we are totally familiar with their circumstances. Even then, a positive support would have far more value than acknowledging the negatives. Our society will generally ignore a person they see who is clearly living on the street, and yet we will have no idea what put them in that situation. Do we really believe that the person’s life long goal was to live on the street? Of course not, so some experience must have triggered that.
Again, thank you Young Lady for asking the question. I sincerely hope that not only have I answered you, but that I have hopefully provided you with more things to think about. As you progress through your life, please don’t ever stop asking questions. Life can be a great educator as long as you participate! Have a wonderful day. Colin.
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Thank you, Colin. I will pass this along.
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🙂
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I loved this then and I love it now! I said elsewhere today that there are words and songs that cannot be revisited too often…indeed these are some of those words. I noticed that you presently have 2,222 other followers and it occurred to me that if each one of us put these words into action it would be a good start. As you say, “Just Thinking”! Happy New Year! Thank-you!
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Thank you Ellen. All we can do is lead by example or, to quote Gandhi, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” 🙂
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Colin…this poem is beautiful and so perfect in how we should be thinking as we go into 2020. Reading this made me cry and my heart break for all the war torn areas in this world because of not being more kind, compassionate and loving towards all others – and, that includes all life on earth. God Bless you this New Year!!! Thank you so much for re-sharing.
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So glad it resonated with you. All each of us can really do is demonstrate by example … and hope it catches on! 🙂
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Always a good poem to read again and one of the best dreams to have! We can always hope that in 2020 we will get closer to the dream coming true, even if just in small ways. When one dreams, one never knows what could happen!
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Yes … one just never knows. 🙂
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Let’s hope some of your dreams become reality Colin.
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Wouldn’t that be nice! 🙂
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Indeed. 🙂
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I remember this poem well. May we all rise in our awareness to make those dreams come true. Happy New Year, Colin!
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… and to you Erika. It will certainly be a good year … if we make it so! 🙂
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Exactly, Colin 😊
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🙂
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We have that same dream. 💖
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There does seem to be quite a few of us in that “camp”. We just need a few billion more to join us. 🙂
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Or just the few that can bring it to fruition. 😉
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🙂
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I like dreaming. This poem reminds me to take a nap.
Let’s hope at least to some extent, these dreams of yours come true in our world.
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We can but hope but, thinking back to peace marches in the 1960s which did not appear to achieve too much, it is hard to be very positive about it.
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Yeah, sigh, it’s the human condition. I’m not sure why we evolved this way, but it will probably take a long time to evolve out of it.
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I think you are right.
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