Had I The Power Poem by Francis Duggan

Had I the power to know and see
The good points and the bad in me
A philosopher I would be instead
Of one who walks around half dead.

Had I the power to understand
And give others a helping hand
And overlook their faults to find
That they too can be good and kind.

Had I the power to spurn hate
to not scorn or discriminate
And have no badness in my heart
Then I would be a man apart.

Outward a person may seem nice
But that doesn't mean he's free of vice
Because he behaves well doesn't mean
That inward he is spotless clean.

There's no human truly perfect
In each of us there's some defect
We merely flatter to deceive
Perfection we cannot achieve.

Had I the power to show my true inside
And not be keeping meaner traits ahide
And show the badness in me with the good
There's no use trying because I never could.