The Sum Of Us

The Sum of Us

We all are taught in our schools

that there is but one reality

we all live in and to which we all must

accept, accommodate, and conform

but this my friend, is only an illusion

that our foolishness and the institutions

of our cultures foster upon us.

Each and every persons perceptions create

a reality of its own, each equal by virtue

of the sweet life flowing in our bodies.

There are seven billion human realities

living now upon Mother Earth...

and millions of whale realities,

millions of dolphin, falcon,

and elephant, realities,

millions of cow and sparrow realities,

billions upon billions of fly,

spider and beetle realities,

and untold scores of microbe realities.

Like vast, vast numbers of poets,

each casting spells with a trillion poems

of love, and sorrow, and hope, and living,

every individual of every species

is a writer penning skillfully

a image of reality with his life.

We all have our own stories to tell,

Lord God if you've got the time.

And reality?

That is a backdrop, a waking dream---

a misty muse from which

we all draw inspiration.

It's truest image, shape and form

is not told by one individual,

by a single country or group

or even by any single species.

Reality on our little blue dot in the sky

is the sum of all of our stories put together

and of the hidden stories

of our Earth Mother, and the bright Sun

and of the quiet stories

of clouds, the wind, the moon

and star filled night skies.

Dewey Dirks