You Know

tears of sadness, and of joy
when you do not know from whence they come
is there anything that you should do?

shouts of pleasure, screams of fear
resound throughout days and nights,
mingling with the soundscapes of civilization
seamlessly becoming a part of life
forcing us apart from life

who really knows what they hear
when a cry for help is answered
with silence …
with the apathy that has been mastered
by this species

we are taught that man is superior than others
accused of being “civilized” and “enlightened”
yet we manage to live
apart from life

sequestered from reality
ensconced within impenetrable cells
protecting us from what may come …
should we be stricken by a moment of consciousness
or conscience

what will happen if that cry for help
answered with silence
is one summoned from deep within ourselves
screams for help … crying out in anguish
alone while surrounded by
countless empty souls

we can’t wait forever
we can’t wait for you to decide
that the cause is worthy – worthy of more than
a headline in your papers
littering the land of the free,
the brave,
the land of the deaf and of the people
who pray to their God
to win their wars
to destroy their enemies … and yet …
is there a prayer left for our children
their cries unheard as they are killed in the streets

murdered with your weapons
bombs you sent to the land
where you refuse to hear
the cries of children as they are torn apart
shredded by the shrapnel
their blood flowing into the sand …

but you know all that
you have been told
by countless appeals and speeches
by diplomats and derelicts
each adding their cries of outrage
to the soundscape of civilised debate
the language of diplomacy
their only weapon … words,
the cries of fear, pain and agony,
falling on deaf ears

what must be done is asked
again and again
a generation of diplomats
replaced by another
but you know
what must be done
as you wash the blood from your hands …
your inheritance and legacy

perhaps one day
you may see
just how it feels
to watch your children
dying before your eyes
counted amongst the
casualties of a “justified” war

when your streets flow with streams of
tiny coffins
will you know what to do
to stop the deaths?

when your streets run with the blood of innocents
will you know what to do
to staunch the flow?

you will know …
you already do

by the CrazyComposer (aka Peter Amsel),
©2006 by Peter Amsel (SOCAN)

Benediction and Indictment:

This poem is dedicated to all the children and innocent victims of wars, especially in the recent conflicts between the Israel, the IDF and Lebanon, with Hezbollah in which the IDF and Israel are fully backed by the United States of America. There is no “right side” in this conflict – there is no winner. Innocents are being slaughtered and nobody with the clout to effect real change has demonstrated the intestinal fortitude to do so. The administration of the U.S. government is jointly culpable for every innocent life taken in this conflict so long as they refuse to condemn the actions of state sponsored terrorism … without even touching on the issue of Iraq (or any other nation that has been “blessed” by the influences of the liberating forces of America).