We are all prophets, first to ourselves,
then to all others. Our prophecy is love,
and then from love to all other feelings
and forms of love. But to love, one first
must be loved:  We can only give what
we have received. Billions of us over mil-
lennia were never loved, so we fought wars
and killed untold others in our heart-blindness.
If ever we are loved, we shall give birth
to kindness that we then can wrap around
others writhing in pain, an anodyne of
yours and mine, a gift that is at once precious
and free.

Now Earth is captive to false notions,
pseudo-values that twist truth into lies, money
over magnanimity, contumely over compassion,
wealth over worth. We wear straight jackets of
self-worth, forgetting we share our real worth,
our spiritual worth, with all other creations
in infinite Cosmos. Our prophecies have been
perverted into profanities. We need to find
courage enough to find love and those who
will imbue us with this all-powerful, healing
force. Otherwise, we are doomed to destruction
and death, along with tulips, tigers, whales,
and hawks.

Copyright 2020 Tod Howard Hawks