The New World

Through the dim oil lamps of cold history we humans used survival,
Often controlled and led by Kings and Queens and Popes,
Accepting of much, demanding of little,
We often went tribal.

Be it Asia, Africa, Europe, or the in-between,
We often went ethnic, religious, and cultural,
Defending our own, demeaning those others,
We became a world that was not always what it seemed.

The massive migrations of tribes across lands,
The mixing of cultures, religions, and appearances,
Sparked the wars and cleansings of others different,
That became the human standard of clans.

The human instinct of Family is beautiful,
Families are the basis of how we humans survive,
The instinct is universal across the lands,
It was an instinct… almost cultural.

Then a New World was discovered, some said it was found,
An unplanned opportunity arose for us humans,
We could shed the Old World cultures while still being Family,
We could honor an idea, a constitution, and not a Crown.

What a novel idea, the common good,
We define the common good, and not the Crown,
The massive shift is in how those in the New World think,
As all changes lead to, we challenge the old and advance those that should…be different.

The path of the New World is full of uncertainty,
Perhaps a new path or slowdown is wise,
But we do have choice, not the old world leaders, but we people,
If ever there is a chance for mankind’s future, it is we...of the New World.

Will the New World change to become like the Old World?
Will the New be dragged to the Old?
Or is the difference enough to change the World to New?
Is there enough courage, selfishness, and confidence to declare the difference…in the World?

I am telling this with a sigh,
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-----
I took the New World path,
And that will make all the difference.*

*Inspired by the Robert Frost poem The Road Less Traveled