When our new dawn yawns,

may we lend our hands to those with whom these myriad paths we tread,

may we be kinder, gentler, of all animosity devoid,

feeling the spirit of uBuntu* embroidering us with a common thread,

may we reaffirm our oneness,
across cultures, faiths, races, and nations,

walking together in peace,

our love binding us for the travails that may lie ahead,

may we embrace the other, without conceit, knowing that we all bleed red,

may we lay down our egos, our barbed words,

our weapons by which far too much blood has been shed,

may we usher in a less cruel world with dignity for all,

may we tend to each others’ wounds, sewing together justice, freedom, equality, may we as one people, stand humble yet tall,

may we always pick each other up, whenever we stumble, whenever we fall.

When our new dawn yawns,

may our hands be clasped together, walking as one – the human race,

may we knit a bond transcending all that has imprisoned us alone, each in a vacuum of desolate space,

so that at long last,
we may see in each other,

a kindred human face

_________

* – uBuntu is a Southern African philosophy that espouses the inter-connectedness of all beings.