Live for Us

Live for Us

What if we lived in consecutive generations
and swung through time
hand to hand
our souls renewing on the wheel of fate
without direction?
What if our ancestors from long ago were us
—not just ancestors,
but ourselves?
What if our descendants
in the future will be us?
Would it change us,
knowing that?
Would it end our callousness and waste
if it were for ourselves—
for us as individuals—
for whom we preserve the future?
We found fire for ourselves,
we made the printed word.
Could we cure cancer and AIDS
and take care of the world?
Would we understand each other,
race, religion, disability,
because we lived that life too?
Would we? 

Marsha Salerno