If This World Survives

If this world survives,
And every other day I think it might,
In good part it will be Because of the great souls in our community.
There are a lot of them.
I’ve seen them walk
In lonely thousands down the city streets,
Or stand in vigils in the rain,
Or turn the handle of a print machine,
Or empty their purses as the plate comes by.
Or gaze into the camera’s eye,
And answer the question: «Will the world survive?»
And they have said,
«We'll try. We’ll try.»