Humanist Voices in Verse: “A Vision for the Future”

This week’s poem is by Sheryl Zettner. She holds a degree in German from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her poetry has been published in The Raintown Review, The Deronda Review and the Laurel Crown Foundation’s publication Dreamcatcher. She wrote “A Vision For the Future” in 2003 following the invasion of Iraq, but has found that her concerns expressed in it are still current today.

If you’d like to contribute original poetry to Humanist Voices in Verse, send an email to write@thehumanist.com with “Poetry” in the subject line. Please send no more than three poems for consideration per week.


A Vision For the Future

Sometimes I struggle just to cope;
I feel like all I have is hope
And all my dreams and all my fears
To get me through the passing years.

I wish that life would just make sense,
That situations weren’t so tense,
That optimism might prevail
Once less constructive methods fail.

That people might cooperate
And not leave everything to fate,
But work to meet a set of goals
That challenge hearts and minds and souls.

I wish my nation would resolve
What’s necessary to evolve
That leaders wouldn’t feed our fear,
But lead us to a new frontier.

That health and wealth were commonplace
With no divisions based on race
Or age or sex or place of birth,
But better ways for judging worth.

I wish our nation would unite
In standing up for what is right,
Protect the future and respect
The other cultures we affect.

To realize we aren’t alone
And can’t decide things on our own,
And while we’re at it, we should face
Our duties to the human race.

—Sheryl Zettner