Rise

Yet again the sun will rise

Its rays will remind you

Of the beaming leper who looked at you

Smiled and waved at you with fingerless hands

As you hissed angrily over the phone.

Yet again the sun will rise

Its shape will remind you

Of the malnourished baby's fingers

That curled around your thumb

As you cursed yourself for missing the bus.

Yet again the sun will rise

Its brightness will remind you

Of the twinkle in the eyes

Of the teenage mother on the street

who sang a lullaby for her little one

As you worried about getting late to work.

Yet again the sun will rise

And it'll remind you

That all those problems

That weighed a 1000 pounds yesterday

Are long gone

Are long dead.

So when the sun rises again

Wave back at the leper with a smile

Offer the malnourished a meal

And don't forget to carry a blanket from home

To wrap it around the sleeping mother and her child.

And then you wouldn't wait for the sun to rise

For you would have chosen to rise instead.