Unique Poem by Jim Yerman

I do not like the word different…it cuts too much like a knife
It adds to the trouble in our world…it causes so much strife.

When we see someone as different fear seeps into our minds
and where there's fear…animosity and prejudice are never far behind.

What starts out merely as a way to tell that person apart from you or me
somehow ends up with people treating one another differently.

We end up in a word of labels, a world of discrimination and entropy.
A world of injustice, a world of oppression, of wars and bigotry.

A world where suspicion and distrust rule and seeds of animosity are sown
all caused when we find traits in people that are different from our own.

What if we looked at one another in a completely different way?
What if there is a word that would keep our fear at bay?

What if we weren't afraid of diversity but reveled in it's mystique
and instead of seeing others as different…we saw them as unique?

Perhaps then, in each life, we might focus on the good things that we see
and in the end create a world filled with peace and harmony.

I imagine by now many of you are thinking this man is different, he's a freak
but I suggest I am not different…I, like you, am totally unique!

(Did you notice when you called me different a host of negatives abound
but when you use the word unique...see how wonderful I sound?)

It seems to me we should strive for a world where differences are not critiqued…
a world where people are more accepting…
now wouldn't that be unique!