Remembering Mattie...

I was watching Good Morning America last night (it comes on at night on 53. I'm not sure if it's for the current or previous day though) and I caught the report on Mattie Stepanek. It was a short clip telling people interested to know how a new park for kids and adults has just been opened in his name. I forget which state though. Anyway, what struck me was the intelligence, sensitivity, and humanity of this young boy. I admit I never caught news items of him while he was alive but I know about him now. And I guess he touched me the way he seems to be still touching other people, young and old, today.

Here's on of his poems:

FOR OUR WORLD
We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment.
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Heart Silent for a moment.
Before we forever lose
The blessing of songs
That grow in our hearts.
We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment.
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.
Stop, be silent, and notice.
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.
We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment.
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.
And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace.

September 11, 2001
© Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek

What an amazing boy. Truly. Gives us hope, huh?