I Have Friends I have friends in hijabs I have friends with beards I have friends who are funny I have friends who are weird I have friends who are Asian, African, American and Australian I have friends who aren't from 'round here', I have friends who are alien. I have friends who speak French, German, Spanish and Hindi. I have friends from Istanbul, Rome, Caracas and Rawalpindi. I have friends who kneel in churches, synagogues and mosques, I have friends who read the Bible, the Torah and the Koran, lost in prayer. I have friends who don't look like me or you Yet, their hearts beat with kindness. I have friends, gentle people who, Are white or coloured and every hue besides I have friends who would never understand The reasons why people see difference and seek to maintain They are better and look down with disdain On people who laugh and cry and sing Just going on with life and doing their own thing, Leading mirror lives Yes skin tone and language and hair and headwear may be different, other But they are all friends, All friends, sisters, brothers. And I would have them no other way. _____________________________ In troubled times, friendships endure and comfort. Yet so much in the world echoes mistrust, misunderstanding and fear of difference, of the outsider, foreigner, alien, other. But are we not all beating hearts, flesh, blood, emotion? Friendships should form irrespective of skin colour, sexual orientation, political opinion or religious belief.
