© 2006 Vicki Hannah Lein
This poem was born in Africa at an an Association for International Schools of Africa conference. My institute was titled “Teaching the Dignity of Difference.” As I explored this issue with the participants, we talked of creating a safe environment to discuss what a true man is. This poem was inspired by my husband, Murray, and the other men of the conference who embody so much of what this poem is about.
How much good can one good man do?
A lot of good.
One good man,
a man who feels fear yet acts courageously,
creates a contagious positive vibration,
bringing a force of goodness into every room he enters.
One good man,
a man who knows that the means are the ends,
sets a standard of honorable behavior
and invites everyone to join him.
How much good can one good man do?
One good man,
a man who isn’t afraid of fear,
a man who isn’t afraid to love with tenderness,
a man who isn’t afraid to admit he is wrong,–
this one good man creates a chain reaction so powerful
it echoes through generations.
One good man,
a man who teaches boys how to be men
and girls how to be strong,
transforms the ‘battle of the sexes”
into a delightful exploration of cerebral diversity.
One good man can heal centuries of wounds,
breaking the cycles of Poverty,
Ignorance,
Crime,
and Addiction.
One good man,
a Gandhi,
a Martin Luther King,
a Nelson Mandela,
a Donald,
a Murray –
one good man changes the face of the earth forever.
And so does one good woman.
Blessings and Thanks!
Vicki