My friend…lend me your ears, listen to me. Lend me your heart, feel me for just a minute. Lend me your eyes and look around you. Sign into facebook, myspace and twitter…let the world stand still and lend me your being. Have you taken time to look around you today? Have you seen the kids in the ghetto? Have you seen the struggle in the rural? Have you felt the pain of the little child? Hungry with no food?The teenage women with AIDS and the able bodied man with no hope? Lend me your ears…listen to my voice…strong and solid as it is at this moment, representing those who have no chance to vocalize their distress.
Have you seen the youth with sickle cell anemia?? Can you imagine the rush of dilaudid and Benadryl? Do you even have the slightest idea what it means? Feel the pain in my legs, my joints, my head and my back. Don’t hate them, forgive us for we might be reaping the fruit of someone else’s’ wickedness. My friend, open your eyes and lend me your sight, so we both can see the suffering of the less fortunate. The woman who is forced to raise children she did not solely bring into this world.The girl who was raped by her cousin who lived under the same roof for seven consecutive years. No one believes her, they blamed her for her own mishap.
Lend me your hands for a minute, give that secretly suicidal teenager a warming embrace…my friend, lend me your time, let every mission wait, let every errand run itself, just for now, let the world stand still. My friend, do you feel what I feel? The pain, the agony and the distress…I remain taciturn, not because I am speechless, but who would understand? If only you could see through these deteriorating eyes…see through my soul and feel the beat of my heart…offbeat anad without rhythm, lend me your pocket. Give that homeless man a dime and acknowledge the sign that says “will work for food.” The woman with the infant on her back, running down the highway in an attempt to sell you something…buy her triffle and save that child’s life.lend me your vision and describe the beauty of this world to the blind man who does not know yellow, blue or black.
Lend me a few items from your closet and put clothes on those backs…my friend, pardon my naivety and lend me your understanding. The world does not revolve around you, neither does it revolve around me. Lend me little drops off your faucet and create an ocean for the thirsty. My friend, my good friend, lend me a few minutes off your life and help a stranger today...My name is Afrikim, and you are my friend…
