There’s sad news any time, all the time;
news of a kidnapping here, a murder there;
a divorce here, orphans there;
an accident here, a hungry soul there;
a street child here, a prostitute there;
a rape here, a suicide there;
cattle rustling here, tribal clashes there;
political violence here, domestic violence there;
and so on, and so forth ad infinitum.
What is sad, though, is that
when misfortunes strike,
humanity is most often indifferent.
The people who get hurt in the process,
are left to their own devices;
humanity refuses to acknowledge that
the victims are somebody’s someone.
All of humanity is going through hard times, I know,
and life’s not meant to be easy.
It’s meant to be lived;
sometimes happy, but other times rough;
as everybody works hard to be somebody,
and to be somebody to someone.
Everybody is somebody’s someone;
and so when life gets rough
on the other person,
let’s not ignore,
let’s not rejoice;
let’s not think it can’t happen to us;
let’s not wish ill on anyone;
let’s give a helping hand
to the best of our ability.
Because everybody is somebody to someone;
somebody misses them; because they are
a neighbor, a husband, an employee,
a wife, a brother, a father, a mother,
a sister, an aunt, a workmate, a boss,
a daughter, a son, an uncle, a cousin,
a best friend, a shoulder to lean on.
To the world they may seem to be total strangers,
just a picture on TV;
but they are somebody’s memory;
Because everybody is somebody,
and nobody is nobody.
Everyone is struggling
to survive, and become somebody;
to become somebody to someone.
And so,
let’s not think we are special;
let’s find it in our hearts
to love the other,
to sympathize,
to empathize.
Let’s go out of our way
to put a smile on the other’s face,
even if they are strangers to us.
Because ……
everybody is somebody’s someone,
and nobody is nobody.
