Bohemia Village Voice

Bohemian resident Mary Housman has put down her thoughts, in verse, on the nature of humanity. "I wrote this poem nearly twenty years ago when I was experiencing some personal problems with a male colleague at work”, she says. “At the time he was my superior and I was a telephonist/receptionist with a large firm of solicitors in London. I always tried to keep my nose clean and get on with my work. I was really happy in my job but for some reason he began picking on me. He made the last couple of years unbearable. It ended up with me taking the firm to court. Although all this happened long ago, it’s only in the last five years that my feelings about my tormentor have abated. Mind you, I don’t know what I’d say if I bumped into him again!"

Reflections on Humanity – Mary Housman

What a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive.
No quotation half as true,
I wonder now could it mean you?
   
So much cruelty man bestows,
Without a mark for it to show.
So much harm by word by deed,
Tell me truly is there need?

To hurt another soul like this,
Indeed for some it seems it’s bliss.
What nasty natures some possess,
It’s true they could not live with less.

From spiteful tongues without a measure,
It seems to give them so much pleasure
To twist another’s word for gain
And cause that other person pain.

The world can be a wicked place,
No matter creed, no matter race.
Abuse of children now is rife,
Without a qualm for taking life.

Beatings, killings all abound,
There seems so much of it around.
Appears to be so full of crime,
Is this the fashion of our time?
So much jealousy and hate,
Surely this can’t be our fate.
For I have seen another side,
A side I’m sure has not yet died.

Where down a leafy lane you’d tread
Without a thought of any dread,
To see a field of waving corn
Upon a lovely summer’s morn,

And hear the birds sing in the trees,
The sound of softly humming bees.
Animals left free and well
And in their rightful place to dwell.

People smiled and said ‘Hello’
And in their hearts they meant it so.
I’ve seen a child smile trustingly,
when she looked up so sweet at me.

We helped another if we could,
most people wanted to do good.
The God above made us as one;
He made no barriers when he’d done.

He gave us brains to show our worth,
to see what we could do on earth.
And when it’s time to take our rest,
can we say we’ve done our best?