Simple Liberties
When hope returns
with the prodigal Spring
your heart soars like a swift
to the far-fetched blue.
When your children revel
in a reservoir of years
and your parents still tell you
what not to do.
When your cats bring gifts
of fur and feather
and your friends are gracious
and forgive each other.
When tolerance is your home
and freedom, your open doors
when you’ve lived without persecution
never fought in any wars.
When the world’s a swan’s egg
laid in a peacock’s clutch,
you know it’ll crack open
and ugliness will hatch.