J’accuse
by cricketjeff on December 21, 2007. © Jeff Green, All rights reserved
“The land of the free” is the title they claim
But problems within must deny them that name.
A nation that leaves such abuses to be
Cannot be the heaven they claim it to be.
The mark of the great is not measured in might
But counted instead from the way they do right.
If the weakest amongst you, are beaten and killed
The blood of the rest should be mortally chilled.
You fight, so you say, for great freedoms elsewhere
For the victims at home you have no time to take care.
From this stain on your people, there’s no place to hide
And the part you’ve all played just can’t be denied.
As you sit down at Christmas and worship your gods
Can you claim that you’ve worked to unbias the odds.
It isn’t “the state” or “the others” or “they”
But each lucky person can take action today.
The christ that your nation professes to follow
Surely can’t be impressed by your promises hollow.
When there’s torture and murder and rape of the weak
No-one in the nation can afford to not speak.
So look to your laurels, don’t turn to one side
Don’t say you are helpless if you haven’t tried.
Don’t sit there reading this poem I’ve penned
Get out there and act, make all mankind your friend
Author notes
A contest entry for:
Poems against rape and murder of Native American women
This contest is to draw attention to the horrific tragedy that faces Native
American women in this country. The official stats say that one in 3 Native
American women will be raped or otherwise sexually assaulted in her lifetime.
English