Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Smiles in the Void


There are smiles on the faces of children in places
Where you’d think no smiling survives
There is blood on the papers signed by the rapists
who decree that your charity saves lives

and your water-well tears for pity poor people
wont change their fate or the basic principle
that it’s the system employed that cultivates this void
and you can’t change it with anything so simple

as a charitable heart or an animal rights march
or a tutting-tongue aimed at the TV
nor will your voice be heard by the prophets
that promise perpetual democracy

through Christmas sales soaring and credit-crunch whoring
by the payment of taxes to torturers
by the fear-factor insurers sent to divorce us
from access to the life they’re insuring

by fire and by fury by the judge and the jury
by the bastards that monitor your safety
by the covenant, the sword, and the arm of the lord
by the roadmaps to peace and prosperity

So drop your coins into cups into hands
And try not to feel like a martyr
Since those smiles will exist despite your demands
on a world that doesn’t depend on your charter

10 comments:

Yodood said...

Civilization doesn't discover and rescue impoverished people, it creates them — just as agriculture doesn't prevent famine, it causes it.

James Higham said...

There are times when there is no adequate response.

Diane Dehler said...

It's difficult to comprehend the greed that rules the world. Your post does indeed leave one without words.

Garth said...

Thanks for the charitable words folks ;]

UBERMOUTH said...

Fantastic. Did you write that?
That's so much better than my:

I had a dog,
who had a flea
which jumped off him
and landed on me.

Thank you for killing my dreams of being a world reknowned poet.:)

Garth said...

What happened to the flea after it jumped on you?

Unknown said...

You want to go and have a read of Angela's post.

Powerful if thoroughly depressing words, Pisces. :-)

Garth said...

Thanks Van - re: Angela's post:
I don’t for a moment advocate that people desist from giving – my point is that the giving of charity addresses the symptoms – you may well provide some relief to the misery of a life lived in abject poverty, but you remain a part of the system that creates that environment. I feel that we should be concentrating our efforts to bring about change within the system.
How do we do this? We start by questioning everything

Anonymous said...

i'd like to question the idea of putting bugspray on a dog's ass

Garth said...

anon: does it leave a bad taste in your mouth?

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