“It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.”
― William Carlos Williams 
There are days when reading or watching world news events are overwhelming. Over a billion people on the planet are struggling and fighting for their survival. Across the globe there is war, famine, murder, torture, rape, abuse. There are children cold and starving who have never known love and affection. There are young girls and women sold to rich men or brothels so their families will have enough money to buy food.
There are men viciously attacked and slashed with machetes trying to defend families.
and protect property. The world is a savage and brutal place for millions and millions of human beings. We destroy our planet, wild life and each other. It's hard to believe that we have hope for the human race at all. Questions that I would pose to any humanitarian or human rights activist is how do you maintain hope? How do you contain all of your emotions when you witness a child starving to death or a woman being beaten for not obeying a man? How do you control your anger? How do you keep from sobbing? How do you continue caring when you know you are up against an impossible task? Exposure to human and animal rights atrocities has brought me to tears. There is an outpouring of emotion rather than a calm, detached observance. The same feelings are conjured up when I watch or read news stories.
There is a part of my being that truly cannot comprehend why people are so unbelievably cruel. Why? The question why is one we all ask ourselves quite often. The answer is personal. The answer is in our own search for meaning. Often we ask, what can I do? There is no simple answer. You do what you can. Are you appreciative of the life you lead? I believe in peace although I'm not sure if there will ever be true peace on earth. There is goodness and kindness in all of us. So call me naive. My gratitude for all that I have allows me to see beauty in the mundane and ordinary. My childlike sense of wonder and awe has never been buried under the enormous weight of adulthood. The moments that I've taken for granted seem few. There is so much to be thankful for in my life. There is so much suffering in the world you must look for hope and happiness in all things. No, I'm not a millionaire, genius scholar or gorgeous celebrity but I have an education, shelter, food, a job, love and independence.
Each new day you create the poem you are meant to live. Not all of us know we are poets.
