In Perspective

Far away across an ocean in a distant foreign land A face is falling off from poison on an every aging man And in the cracks and creases of the flesh a light goes out a constitution dies By a fire in a forest a soldier sits holding a gun In a village a young mother cries while looking at her son Because while he sleeps and dreams so peacefully outside the enemy has arrived And on the side of a bomb falling Is my name penned to read left from right In the street there is barbed wire from an unjust occupation In the air a rocket's fired and it feeds the desperation Of a people pushed so far against the wall there is no escape to see In a city's crowded market an explosion brings despair The people pack the streets holding high fists and coffins in the air The reporter calmly calls one terrorist the former thought out strategy And on that day in another season A starving child forever closes his brown eyes Here I sit with stomach full there's peace and quiet on my street In my closet there are clothes I have shoes tied onto my feet I'm embarrassed by my sadness all because my hand's empty This is my cry throughout the world this is my apology So I offer up my hand in all it's barren readiness And I offer up my voice and it's origins in my chest Help me give all that I can in spite of my unwillingness Push me forwards toward compassion and away from selfishness