Change Your Dream

“What is the dream 
inside your head?”
the young girl said.
“Where does it take you?
Does it serve you well?”
The man was surprised.
Consumed by power and profit
for so long,
he  never questioned his mind.
He just blindly did its bidding,
never asking why.
Now he saw for the first time
with newly opened eyes
that his high-flying world
was filled with emptiness
and bereft of real meaning.
His heart had frozen cold as ice
or raged like a fire
to destroy whatever stood in his way.

Gently picking up the little girl
and holding her at arm’s length
to look into her eyes, he said,
“Tell me, what can I do?
How can I change?”
“Change your dream,” she said,
gazing into his soul.
“Make a dream that serves others, 
not just yourself.
Stop sacrificing everything
for money and hard power.
Listen to your love 
instead of your fear,
and watch a garden flourish
in the desert of your barren heart.
Become human,
and fulfill the promise you made long ago.
You don’t remember it now
but you will,
as you look into the eyes
that look back at you.”
And she was gone.

But he felt her memory
in the eyes of every child,
every woman,
every man
and every living creature
to whom he showed his kindness.
For that was the promise:
to be humankind.

© Copyright Alexandra Innes July 23rd, 2023