Distant Poem by RIC BASTASA

that guy over there
that woman waiting in that corner
that child sitting at the edge of this bus station
that old man begging with a tin can on his right hand and a staff on his left
that vendor shouting for you to buy a drink and a loaf of bread
that silent man inside the bus looking nowhere
that man that woman that child without you knowing their names

they are your brothers and sisters and our children
they are you too in their bodies and faces and arms and legs and hands and toes

every part of each is a part of you
so please be careful not to choose to hurt in word and in deed and even in
thought
because at the end of all these hurting and hurling
you shall be
hurt too