Authenticity in All Boardrooms?
ONE TRUE WORD
There are words in this world that make a difference,
They have nothing to do with brilliant discourse,
They are not the words of clever wit,
They are neither eloquent nor metaphoric,
Nor are they professional or mundane,
Manipulative and soothing,
They are words that neither impress or depress,
They are simple and true,
Easily overlooked in a million books,
Just a word or two,
To say sorry.
As I walk through a graveyard,
I see tributes to the dead from the living,
I see flowers carefully tended,
As they are lovingly remembered,
Small photos revealing this person once lived,
And their life made a difference that no words can capture,
Yet love is engraved, entombed, embraced,
Loving words encased as a last goodbye,
For it is in this place that you truly realise,
Life is fleeting.
I see in the world this great indifference,
This ability to ignore, avoid and deny,
So many refuse to see the importance of truth,
They hide behind positions, titles, laws, facades,
For words do indeed matter,
Acknowledgement is a statement of what is,
An answer indicates one has been heard,
But fear dictates their every action and reaction,
Yet what they fear is unreal,
And those hurt through this ruse
Lose their dignity and rights,
For their plight was a slight,
It got in the way of progress,
A distraction from what is real and important
Yet what if the meaning of one’s life is the sacred seal of one’s true word?
What if the measure of one’s success is truth revealed?
What if the calibre of one’s nature is integrity, honesty and respect?
In this world:
I see flowers blooming,
Faces shining,
Communities sharing,
I see all caring,
‘Infinite possibilities can be unleashed in ways unknown today,
For that is the power of one
true word,
Yet it will never be heard,
Until ‘to thine own self be true’,
Becomes the mantra in all boardrooms,
As authenticity becomes the creed not of preference but choice,
For this is what it means to truly have a voice,
That can only sing
in harmony.