"I Walked a Mile in Your Shoes Today" appears in the debut copy of the Peace Poems book, prepared by Peace House of Ashland, Oregon, 2008.

I WALKED A MILE IN YOUR SHOES TODAY

I walked a mile in your shoes today,
I didn’t know the road was hard and rough.
But as the windy path gave way,
I learned to appreciate, and not to be so tough.

As all the coarse un-tumbled stones, falling ever closer, nearer,
I found the pathway challenging, I understood true fear.

I still don’t know the reason why, on you go, without complaining,
As if in a far-off land, your face, with joy, containing.

I walked a mile in your shoes today,
Your feet must surely grow oh so tired,
With blisters still, you’d show the way,
The more I see, the more I now admire.

It must be some kind of magic,
Some mystic deep inside,
that keeps you on your chosen path,
where love and peace abide.

You claim so little for yourself, your work is never done,
And when it’s time to rest your head, you are the joyful one.
Still not sure why you care about so many, many others,
Is it because we’re all the same, all true sisters and true brothers?

I walked a mile in your shoes today,
Seeing now your simple pleasures,
You find the love in everyone,
Life’s real and lasting treasures.

I walked a mile in your shoes today,
Through glen, and brook, and dell,
I think I have finally found the way,
And see the light as well.

Peace to all, may we learn to respect all walks of life.

Copyright December, 2007
Fred Jenning Rogers