Anyone can paint a picture.
Unless they don’t have a brush, a canvas, a piece of paper.
Anyone can grow a garden.
Unless they don’t have land, seeds, a patch of dirt.
Anyone can learn to read.
Unless they don’t have a book, a paragraph, a teacher.
Anyone can make dinner.
Unless they don’t have a fridge, a stove, some food.
Anyone can get a job.
Unless they don’t have experience, transportation,
a clean background.
Anyone can find a place to live.
Unless they don’t have credit, recommendations,
a bank account.
Anyone can improve their health.
Unless they don’t have access, insurance, money.
Anyone can pursue their dreams.
Unless they don’t have free time, creative space,
systems of support.

Anyone can theoretically do anything. But anyone cannot
do everything. And everything is not always available
to everyone.

But, everyone can do quite a few things without quite a lot.

Everyone can share their wealth: smiles, a bite to eat,
a compliment, some time.
Everyone can change the world:
through kindness, love, sacrifice, empathy.
Everyone can be a friend: building trust, demonstrating
loyalty, giving respect, asking forgiveness.
Everyone can seek peace.

If everyone did everything they can do, I think it wouldn’t be quite so hard for anyone to succeed.

Originally published in Objects Things Stuff—Messy Bits We Carry Around (Dark Thirty Poetry Publishing, 2025)

SDG