They told us to trust authority,
To think empirically
To put two and two together,
To critically think,
And then they said no more.

They told us to look closely,
To see the hidden image,
To glimpse behind the curtain,
And then they said we can’t trust what our eyes see,

They told us to care,
To be invested deeply,
To train our emotional intelligence,
And then told us “no” to empathy.

May the lessons nurtured by a caring world outlast oppression,
May our skills of living, breathing, feeling, knowing, seeing, thinking be carried on,
And instilled in the young,
May we remain unjaded,
Steadfast and aware in our moral understanding of basic ethics,
A guide that filters right from wrong,
Sympathy from cruelty,
And in times like these make the heart ache deep into the night,
Ache for basic, human rights,


May we be a shield of love and light,
Of Hope withstanding;
Resiliently, defiantly
Knowing and illuminating the truth when observed,
By our senses, by our sight, by our awakening;
Trusting intuition, trusting truth laid before us,
Trusting in our hearts, what we know is
good.