Can you be strong and not be violent
Can you be assertive and not be demanding
Can you be forceful and not be dominating
Can you be visionary and not be a dreamer.
Can you be a listener before becoming a talker
Can you be an observer and a learner
Can you be appreciative and not critical
Of the foundation laid down before you.
Can you respect diversity
Honor and respect those
Who walked a different path
In search of same ideals.
Can you inspire and not be an obstacle
Can you find a middle ground
In search of solutions overlooked
Not be an extremist and hold on to prejudice.
If you aspire to be all that
Then you are worthy to lead
Be a leader of this great nation
And you have earned my vote.
Out of numerous inquisitions, I like the intesity of this very question: Can you be visionary and not be a dreamer?
Savita, thanks. reading it now. Can you honor and respect those Who walked a different path In search of same ideals? ..............i wonder who you have in mind. hmmm? I mean those “who walked”. Not be an extremist and hold on to prejudice............i wonder what you mean by and hold on to prejudice. to me, it sounds like and keep prejudice going, which, OF COURSE, you would not mean. right? OH! i think it would sound 'right' to me and be clearer for me if you put not in front of hold. let me know if you agree. If you aspire to be all that Then you are worthy to lead........ .....unfortunately (1) we can not always believe what politicians say, AND (2) even with aspirations, if the leader can not get others to agree/cooperate (e.g. congresspersons; voters, aides) , the aspirations may die of lack of energy. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - as•pire əˈspī(ə) r/ verb verb: aspire; 3rd person present: aspires; past tense: aspired; past participle: aspired; gerund or present participle: aspiring direct one's hopes or ambitions toward achieving something. we never thought that we might aspire to those heights synonyms: desire, hope for, dream of, long for, yearn for, set one's heart on, wish for, want, be desirous of; aim for, seek, pursue, set one's sights on Jen aspires to a career in veterinary medicine would-be, aspirant, hopeful, budding; potential, prospective, future; ambitious, determined, upwardly mobile; informalwannabe an aspiring journalist literary rise high; tower. above the domes of loftiest mosques, these pinnacles of death aspire Origin late Middle English: from French aspirer or Latin aspirare, from ad- ‘to’ + spirare ‘breathe.’ Translate aspire to - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - i like the poem. but, remember that not all voters wish for the same things in their lives as you do. some voters undoubtedly would love to have candidates elected who have your wished-for aspirations, but not all candidates would have the same legislative/ruling goals you would want them to have. e.g. BOTH a pro-life candidate AND a pro-choice candidate could work to reach their goals [e.g. outlaw abortion completely OR make abortion easily -available] using the methods you favor. AT LEAST things could be worse than they are now. bri :) p.s. i will gladly put this into the July 2016 a showcase for PH poets, found in my list of PH poems.
Thanks Bri for your comment. It is true one can aspire to be a leader and may be worthy of the positition too and still not be able to get it since final choice rests not with just one voter but with majority of voters. As for using ' not ' just for once if it is just one sentence....I understand it to be correct (of course I do not have any grammar book handy to refer to) ! May be another ' not ' would make it clear so thanks for pointing it out.... Also thanks for putting it in your July showcase.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Be a leader of this great nation...............great call dear poetess!