RIGHT NOW

Right now
alone in a room a man
holds a gun to his head,
right now
a schoolgirl hasn't returned home
and never will,
right now
a lie is ravaging a marriage,
right now
a bottle is destroying a family.

Right now
a 12 year old jabs in
the first needle of heroin to escape,
right now
an old homeless man collapses and
dies from hunger,
right now
cancer is eating away someone's mother
in a sterile hospital room.

Right now
hate is sweating on the brow
of the angry and uncomprehending,
right now
the unfortunate suffer under the rule of
the rich and powerful,
right now
fear swallows the eyes and
consciousness of the timid.

Right now
you are lying to yourself to be happy,
right now
you need to be in touch with your inner self,
right now,
you can change anything if you really want to,
for anything is possible.

Right now
you are forgetting to see the world behind things,
the things that really mean something,
right now
remember to be alive in every moment,
right now
you should be listening to your heart,

Right now,
love is all that matters.

Right now
death is the final frontier.

Right now,
it is never too late..........

Right now
I finish this poem
and lay down the pen and
wipe the tears from my eyes.

March 24, 1997/ July 19, 20, 2006