Read the Poems

So much choice in my early life
With many paths for adventure,
There's years and years to try them all
Let’s see; I'll first sample pleasure.

And thus I journey 'cross the land
To sample delights in plenty,
There's so much time, I need not rush,
With a life that's far from empty.

I started half a world away
In Malaya and Singapore,
Mauritius too became my home
Where I learned of Cyclones and more.

By far the greatest gift I gained
Was to meet with different peoples,
To learn some things I valued most
Were valued for silly reasons.

I’d been taught: “This Is The Right Way”,
There’s no other way to do it!
They showed me how my mind was closed
For  in their world I'm the misfit.

I realized then that in this world
Problems have many solutions.
And if I claim that mine’s the best,
Then I’m the one with delusions.

Even techniques that work for me
For others are far from the best
For they use skills and talents that
Are derived from a different nest.

Life may have taught them different ways
To view the world that surrounds them.
Living quite harmoniously
In a balanced, stable system.

We cannot judge their world by ours
When we live with different values.
For when we force our ways on them
We proliferate our failings.