Smidgen of Humanity

Peer pressure, I’ve heard it all my life
The bully’s in schools
The strict household rules
The privileges of money
And prejudice of race
Whether in school or in life
These are still boundaries we face
One girl tries to face it
Alone in her trust
Change she can’t promise
But effort she must
Someone asks what she wants
But her answer isn’t theirs
And they snicker at simplicity
And she’s trapped by their snares
She’ll reduce herself for them
Then she’s judged for that too
She can neither be strong
Nor weak nor improved
She’s pressured by weight
Or the lack thereof
She’s either too tall
Or too short to speak of
Or too showy for modesty
To modest for love
Too happy for sorrow
Too sincere for flattery
Too energized for slumber
Too magnetic for battery
Too quiet for the noisy
Too loud for the deaf
Too much for good measure
Too little for good health
Too simple for formula
Too elaborate for plain
Too rich for the gravel
Too poor for the gain
Too beautiful for vanity
Too ugly for pearls
Too much yet for death
But too little for this world
She’s someone’s nothing
But another’s whole heart
She’ll pick up your pieces
Without knowing where to start
She’s a best friend to someone
Who appreciates her worth
A cherished daughter or sister
A strangers true north
She offers her strength
Where the absence is known
Handing out humanity
Where hatred had grown
She can’t fix the world
Not even the lives in her reach
But time she can give
And love she can teach
To a globe lost in darkness
Using heaven as a light
She can generate grace
Till there’s only grace in sight


Peer pressure, I’ve heard it all my life
Judgements spread
As hand-me-down threads
Prejudices or preferences
Versus similarities or differences
We are all given chances
To choose our reactions
To cry in the storm
Or dance in the rain
To hurt someone further
Or alleviate their pain
In a world that is broken
That a bandaid won’t heal
When kindness is absent
And pressures become real
Our smidgen of humanity
Might be all someone feels