Thus I Wrote

I heard that they clapped, the people in the streets
There were so many, none of them I would meet
I wondered then, how much do they really know?

As we fought on the frontline, this new enemy
We were frightened and lonely because we couldn’t see
There was so much then that we didn’t know.

There was not enough testing, not enough PPE
That’s why her apology seemed insulting to me
We need honest support & not a political show

We live in the moment, we live to fight on
We give all we’ve got, to save someone
We’ve no time to think, Are we going to go?

We serve each other, more connected than we thought
We depend on each other, more equal than we thought
But will you remember that when this is all oe’r

Lockdown saves lives but at what a cost
The damage to the economy and all the jobs lost
Who will reap that which we now sow?

They started too late, they went their own way
They lost time but its not what they’ll say
But questions mount as deaths continue to grow

We live in the moment, we live to fight on
We give all we’ve got, to save someone
We’ve no time to think, Are we going to go?

We serve each other, more connected than we thought
We depend on each other, more equal than we thought
But will you remember that when this is all oe’r

I hear the word hero
I think nobility
Some great achievement
And courage I see

But is hero a tool
Within the culture we grow
To reap from others
More than we sow

Do heroes give to others
More than they receive?
While such a calculation
Is bad most believe.

So is a medal and praise
Reward enough?
While others live it well
And heroes live it rough

In our selfish culture
Surely all will soon see
To be a hero for others
Could be a mug for me

You chose him
You’re responsible
He’s a symptom of your disease
You’re not anymore
Some shining city on a hill
You fill the world with unease
You’re now losing
All the wonder
You had found
Empty vessels make most sound

He ain’t patriotic
He don’t pay taxes
He insults war hero McCain
He sows division
Making many incisions
With insulting tweets again
He makes fake news
Cos he don’t want
Your feet on the ground
Empty vessels make most sound

He destroys
& He divides
Cos he can’t create
He lies
& He insults
Cos he’s threatened by what’s great
He pollutes
& He poisons
All that he’s around
Empty vessels make most sound

I awoke and I rose above
The detritus of the night
Half-remembered dreams
In the anxious half-light
I heard silent whispers
In the candlelight as they fed
And I saw the forgotten many
In the mansions of the dead

I watched her as she talked
And I saw her emotions flicker
I thought and I wondered why?
Do her angels and demons bicker?
I saw a cloud of sadness float by
I wondered what does it teach?
What hand is on her shoulder?
And from where does it reach?

In the night I feel her
Breathing love and affection
And her legs they wrap around mine
Is she seeking my protection
My prayers are like incense
They rise quietly above her head
As she searches for the answers
In the mansions of the dead