Zeitgeist Poem by Jack Rolph

I shall always smile when reminded that I'm free
to share my thoughts with others who might share their thoughts with me;
that I may learn to understand to understand and learn;
that I may yield my knowledge and then seek it in return;
that I may hear uncanny tales, strangely similar to mine,
and see the wonders of the world anew in stranger eyes.

How I have screamed when I have seen the horror, hate and spite
when I have freely shared that which, in my mind, seems right,
only to be burned alive in wrath and drowned in scorn
by those who freely speak but cannot listen anymore.
Today, I grin with a still tongue, held prisoner by my fear,
at liberty to form the words that others wish to hear.

The deafened may not hear as the blinded may not see
that I am always smiling when reminded that I'm free.