Would You Care?

If the world was ending today

Would you care

If the person standing next to you

Was dark or fair

Or fat or thin

Or tall or short

Or had a curved or a straight nose

Was a he or a she

Or somewhere in between.

If you found out

That these were the last few moments left

Would you care

If the hand holding yours

Was born within different borders

Danced in a different manner

Spoke a different tongue

Prayed a different way

Or didn’t pray at all.

If your fearful eyes found solace

In another offering warmth

Would you care if those eyes

Had seen different things

Cried on different occasions

Smiled at different worlds

Had had different hopes

Or if those eyes

Couldn’t see at all.

If these moments were the last

Would you carry banners

Denouncing those of a different race

Or region

Or country

Or religion

Or skin

Or sexuality

Or customs

Or clothes

Or weight

Or height

Or hair

Or nose

Or eyes

Or the shape of that speck of dirt on their cheek?

Or would you

Grab the first hand

Hold on to it tightly

Comfort and be comforted

And savour your last breath?

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Would you care?