WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

Like some of my poems, this was also written for a school assembly, but for a much younger age group. Each couplet referred to one distinctive global event that was displayed in a slideshow.

What a difference a day makes
A minute, a second is all it takes
To create history, to change the world
To embark on ventures, brave, new and bold

It takes a day for war to start
A day that will, for years, tear nations apart
It takes a day for life to begin
One that will, on another day, a new nation win

It takes a day to launch a new career
One that will, our lives, into a new era steer
It takes a day to realize the work of a lifetime
Work that will, one day, be praised in song and rhyme

It takes a day for a typhoon, tsunami or earthquake
A day, that will, millions of lives rudely shake
It takes a day for disaster to strike
Disaster that will take away the people and things we like

It takes a day for you and me
To be the people that we can be
It takes a day for you to grow
And the friend of a lifetime, get to know

What a difference a day makes
So, let us give it all it takes
To make this day, special and good
To be the people we can and should.

BEing HUMAN

BEing HUMAN

In order highlight our ability to go beyond race, sex and religion and succeed for our very humanity, I recited this poem at a school assembly.

I may be black, brown or white
I may be clever, or not very bright

I may be Indian, Chinese or Brit
I may be strong, or not very fit

I may be Hindu, Muslim or Jew
I may be popular, or have friends that are few

I may be a gentle lady, or a stoic gent
I may be young, or a life nearly spent

I may be very tall; or rather short
I may be wealthy; or be a ‘have not’

I may be…
Many things…

But ONE thing I know…

I AM

HUMAN

ONE of a kind, a very ‘rare’ breed
With the will to survive and the power to succeed.