Poems, Tales and Images
Competition 2001 Winner

Artist Name:
Vadim Keyser

Grade: 11th

School:
Hammond High School, Columbia, Maryland

Country: USA

Title of Work: The Power of Kindness and Respect

Date of Work: 2001

Medium:
Colored Pencil

The Power of Kindness
and Respect

Do kindness and respect float around like invisible entities with no direction?

Do they simply come to creatures by chance?

Or do they possess preferences?

Do they rush to the creatures that appear the most fit, the most beautiful, or the most beneficial to society?

No, kindness and respect are blind to bias.

They would give to the elegant rose just as much of themselves as they would give to the repulsive spider.

Then why does this replenishment follow a broken rhythm?

The holder of kindness and respect is unlike his possessions.

He distributes their unlimited supply with an inclination.

The kindness and respect that were at one time free become bound by the holder's judgements.

The holder must realign a part of his perception in order to dispose of his prejudices.

Only then will the rose and the spider be cherished equally.

And only then will each creature receive the comfort that they patiently wait for, minute by minute.