He Came Here For A Better Life Poem by Francis Duggan

He is a stranger in the Town and him you do not know
And because he looks darker than you direspect for him you show
His skin may be as black as coal but his soul may be white
And your soul full of darkness like the darkened skies of night.

He came here for a better life that should not be a crime
And he looks far older than his years though he is still in his prime
He has been through famine and through war and known far tougher times than you
He is indeed a noble man despite all he's been through.

He has known far tougher days than you or I though with that you may not agree
And we only see differences if difference we want to see
He seems a warm and a gentle soul and he smiles so easily
Perhaps a better man than you and a better man than me.

That he looks different to us don't give you a right to put him down
He came here for a better life he should be made feel welcome in our Town
Your narrow minded racist views I never could condone
Are you the perfect human being that you should cast the verbal stone?

You look at him he has one head a mouth, a nose, two eyes
He seems no different to us is that a big surprise?
Perhaps your vision is not good you may be partly blind
The one you see as different is one of our own kind.

A person who has known the worst of man's inhumanity
He should feel welcome in our midst this Stateless refugee
he lives far from his own tribe and from his family
And the difference that you see in him is what you want to see.