Walking the Walk

"Be noble, and the nobleness that lies in
 other men, sleeping but never dead, will rise
 in majesty to meet thine own."—J.R. Lowell

Something I learned a long time ago,

and passing years have confirmed it’s so:

You don’t always need to ‘walk the walk’

or make a big effort to ‘talk the talk’

in order to see and understand

how life is going for another man.

Unbiased eyes will help you discern

all that’s necessary for you to learn.

You only need a heart that’s good

and views not obscured by the hood

of preconceived notions in order to find

what generally governs another man’s mind.

Basically, that’s all you need to do

without taking a step in another’s shoes,

unless you’ve lived in a cloistered state

and don’t know a thing about love or hate.

Treat others as you’d have them treat you

is old advice that’s proven to be true.

But there’s always some pure son-of-a-bitch

you simply have to dump in a ditch.

It applies to kids and women as well;

some folks are just headed straight for hell.

Joking aside, Shakespeare said it best,

and his words have long stood the test:

“This above all: to thine own self be true,

and it must follow, as the night the day,

thou canst not then be false to any man.”

It all boils down to where your heart lies;

I need not be Italian to read Roman eyes.

 © Thurman P. Woodfork 1/3/2009