STREAMING

They were moving pictures of us at our worst -

The blessings of technology twisted and cursed

By our freethinking depravity

And our frequently fed degeneracy.

Yet, we have all done wrong.

So every murder mars us all

And we all share in the blame.

The sentences, the convictions,

Imprison us all forever.

Long ago, we all turned away.

We all listened to the songs of sirens

And we were all seduced by their promises.

Our leaders did not lead –

They offered us petty bribes

And played on our sordid fears.

Weak, we were happy to be misled.

We ignored our voices of conscience

And forgot the wisdom of ages,

Though it was there for us all to read

In the death toll of our violent history.

Even our reactions bring us shame.

Everywhere there is vengeance,

As an angry mob prepares a knot

And another one loads a gun.

Why do we never admit our common guilt

And seek the consolation of forgiveness?

Only then can floods of mercy

Wash away our shared shame

And quench the heat of hate.

Only then can we build bridges

That we all can cross into life,

Instead of erecting gallows

On which we all can only die.

But, for now, only tears are streaming.