Stolen Gems

They promised her circus, they promised her treats They promised her clowns, they promised her sweets When they took her from the dusty small town streets Of her family home And she never again saw her mother's eyes Never again heard her sister's cries She never again believed a white man's lies Her whole life long And those who lived charmed lives from the start Say they carry no guilt for they played no part In decisions that tore the very heart From the people's breast It may not be our guilt but it is our shame If we turn our backs now if we bury their claim If we sit on our hands in apathy's name It may not be our guilt but it is our shame. She'd find herself a place to sleep each night Away from the noise away from the fights She'd tell herself everything would be alright When the morning came And she drowned herself in a sea of booze Another black kid on the street ain't news There's nothing to win she had nothing to lose Not even her name And those who passed by her every day Never looked in her eyes before they turned awau Turned her into an anecdotal play For their friends at night I saw her again just the other night She ws singing her songs in a bright spotlight And no-one in the audieence averted their sight From her face this time She was singing it proud, she was singing it strong And the message was clear at the core of her song We're a distance to go but we don't have long To bring the children home And those who've lived charmed lives all their days In their serious suits with their chardonnays Cannot see that if they'd only come half way They'd find an outstretched hand.