Jury and Judge for a Day
- 1. In pride one day I decided in my own foolish way To be jury and judge for a day.
- 2. So with gavel in hand I began to scan And closely scrutinize my fellow man. To my lack of surprise I noticed many not as wise, Not as kind, not as nice, Not as calm and cool on ice, Not as feeling, Not as appealing, Some so lacking in grace They seemed no credit to the human race.
- 3. And so just for fun I classified each one, Which was very quickly done. I’m so proud to say, For in my own most humble way, I measured each one against myself, Then packaged, labeled And put them on a shelf. And without any heed Proceeded to read To all I could find The brilliant conclusions of my mind.
- 4. Now these here I did find less Than you and I who are the best! And this one so seemingly good I finally understood Upon closer inspection, Had a large imperfection, Which at the time I did feel Was my duty to reveal. For I personally saw In them a most terrible flaw.
- 5. Then pointed to the crack Of some terrible lack, Giving myself a pat on the back For sharing this most despicable fact, While trying to look finer Like first class on a luxury liner, Rather than in fact Like some worm on your lap Or a fly eating (whatever). But just as I was enjoying All the lives I was destroying
- 6. At the expense of sisters and brothers And much pain to so many others, I met the ultimate cad A despicable soul who made me so mad, I disliked the way he talked, Add to that the way he walked, The way he filled his plate, And of course the way he ate.
- 7. Early or late he seemed wrong, His hair too short or too long, His clothes were appalling, With colors and patterns all brawling; How bad the way he sat or rose, Or sometimes picked his nose, Or hugged too long and too much, Or often seemed so out of touch. I must confess I labeled him a total mess. So much about him was bugging I felt he needed a mugging.
- 8. But one night I now confide I dreamt I suddenly died, And at Heaven’s pearl gate Who should me there await But the very guy I’d come to hate The one I considered least The cad, the beast! The opposite of me, Object of my antipathy! Then to my horror and demise Jesus pulled off His disguise Said, “Surprise! It’s Me! Okay, let’s have a see! Shall we open the Book And have a quick look At how you treated Me?”
- 9. Well, my friend I am happy to say I came back to life that day! Now I’m back here With a lot more fear, To open my face And try and erase A good name, Or find fault or defame Another I need to love as my brother
- 10. Authored by Anaik A.. Illustrations by David Komic. Design by Yoko Matsuoka. Copyright © 2011 by The Family And I’ve shut off the faucet That watered those seeds Of such evil weeds That grew in my garden of gossip.