You've Seen Too Much

 I know you're jaded.
You've seen too much and too many
self-seeking,
cold-hearted,
unfeeling people.

(You're not alone.)

You've walked into rooms filled with
unspoken rancor, hostility, cunning and
vaulting ambition.

(Love still exists in some hearts.)

You could smell the deceit in the perfumed air.
You saw the side-eyed glances of the envious.
You heard the tremor in the fearful voices.
You felt the fumbling touch of the lost.

(You're not alone.)

Walk through the garden of love.
Sniff the aroma of flowering hope
that all will be well.
Stand solidly and remember kinder times.

(Love still exists in some hearts.)

You can give joy, find it within.
Be steadfast in your expression.
Don't accept that this is the way
that the world will spin.

(You're not alone.)

Take the hand of the lonely.
Hold tight to the shattered ones.
Give strength to those broken
by fate or cruelty.

(Show the love.)
(You're not alone.)
(Show the love.)
(Show the love.)

©Ellen Pepper 2026