Bogdan Vitas is a sophomore in the School of International Service and the College of Arts and Sciences. Vitas writes poetry and prose to raise public awareness of crises worldwide in which gross violations of human rights have occurred.

By BOGDAN VITAS

Observer Contributor

NOV. 1, 2007

My husband, my wife,
My father, my mother,
My son, my daughter,
My brother, my sister,
My friend, my neighbor.

Photo by Observer Staff

Can you wake gently,
Whilst others, abducted from their beds, are ripped prematurely,
Can you stand indifferently,
As others, brought to their knees, are slaughtered most mercilessly,
Can you work halfheartedly,
While others sow seeds of labors, whose fruits they will never see,
Can you live freely,
When elsewhere, all their lives, others have known nothing but tyranny,
Can you sleep soundly,
Knowing injustice roams free, assailing the sacred Lady of Liberty.

Can you look yourself in the mirror after all is said and done,
Labeling them, like others, as others,
And convincing yourself, that they couldn’t be.

Your wife, your husband,
Your mother, your father,
You daughter, your son,
Your sister, your brother,
Your neighbor, your friend.

Can you look upon them in the mirror after all is said and done,
Taking in their reflections, each and every one,
And convincing yourself, that they are not indeed,
Your kin, your brethren, fellow human beings.

Aung San Suu Kyi has raised the call, above strife,
For freedom from fear,
At the end of your life,
I most humbly do pray that your conscience is clear.