One bleak winter’s morning
A man rose onto a wooden box
To tell his story.
Many just walked by him
And why should they care?
The old man smiled at me,
The only one to stop and stare
He spread his arms out,
To a world that wasn’t listening
Ready to embrace them,
Forgiven for all that they were missing.
He spoke of all the world’s problems
In one simple phrase:
“Fear, love and understanding,
Are the words that you should praise
For fear keeps us orderly
And understanding keeps us sane
Love drives us onward
To do the things we do
And a slight imbalance of the three
Could split the world in two.
Fear love and understanding.
Understand love and fear.
Love fear and understanding.
Hold these three words dear
For these are the workings of all life
Without them the world is unclear”
I just gaped in awe, dumbstruck
That this man knew so much.
I gawped and blinked,
He smiled and winked.
I began skipping down the street,
Crying to people I did meet,
“Love one another,
Understand your neighbour,
Don’t fear what you don’t understand
But try to understand it better”
Most people turned and walked away,
Others shrieked and ran,
Because did not know these three words
They didn’t understand.
I told everybody that I knew
Of the world’s simple rule,
Though they just laughed
And told me I was a fool.
I travelled all around the world
Searching for someone who understood.
Eventually I settled down
And wrote my tale into a book.
My book made a fortune
And finally the world knew:
Fear, love and understanding
Would help this world pull through.
Governments changed their policies
To love and understand,
People helped strangers in the street
And held out a welcoming hand.
Years later I went back to the street
Where I first heard the old man preach.
The street had not changed one bit,
Except it was empty and bleak.
The wooden box had not moved,
Yet bore no speaker,
Only a copy of my book,
“Love, understand and fear”
I looked straight up towards the heavens,
Thankful I’d just stopped
And
Listened
To discover something that the others had
not.
