Considering Greatness

This week I’m sharing a poem I wrote a month or so ago. Inspired by Walt Whitman, the poem asks what it really means to be a great person. How do you define greatness (or genius)?

Photo by Collab Media on Unsplash

The Great Extremely Stable Genius

(After Walt Whitman’s The Great City)

The place where a person of great genius stands is not the place of paid-off escorts, stiffed lawyers, hawked bitcoin, deposits of wealth,
Nor the place of ceaseless puckering of sycophants or fired apprentices slinking away,
Nor the place of the tallest and costliest hotels or con men selling favors from oval offices,
Nor the place of the best casinos and golden toilets, nor the place where falsehoods are the deepest,
Nor the place of the most numerous fawning crowds.

Where the person stands with the immigrant and transgender souls,
Where the person stands that is loved by the marginalized and loves them in return and understands them,
Where no one boasts of their greatness but lets their words and deeds speak,
Where generosity is in their heart, and wisdom is in their heart,
Where kindness and compassion have more meaning than laws,
Where the lie ceases, and the master of lies ceases,
Where one rises together with workers against fascist and oligarch,
Where passionate leaders flow forward as a tidal wave of justice, inevitable as death flows in sweeping and savage waves,

Where the authority of others falls before one’s own conscience,
Where the dignity of the human is held aloft, and President and Congress are servants of the people,
Where children are taught respect for themselves, their neighbor, and the earth, and to share with those in need,
Where diversity, equity, and inclusion is the rule of the day,
Where reflection and independent thought are valued,
Where women walk with no need to worry of their safety in the presence of men,
Where women are given the power and the men listen,
Where the person of faithful friends stands,
Where the person of unconditional welcome stands,
Where the person of un-repenting hope stands,
Where the person of courageous humility stands,
There the person of great genius stands.