SEE HOW THEY LIVE TO DIE
 

See how,

They fear,

The sun.

See how,

They hide,

From the light.

See how,

They're not the only ones,

Terrified,

Of the night.
 

See how,

They fight,

Side by side.

For what they think is right.

See how,

They're taken,

For a one-way-ride.

On a descending meteorite.
 

See how,

They scream,

In fright.

See how,

They cry,

Of their plight.

See how,

They dream,

In the night,

Of ways to die,

Before dawn's early light.
 

See how,

Hard,

They try.

See how,

They strive,

Only to fail.

See how,

They survive,

On the sea of lies,

Without a sail.
 

See how,

They think much,

But not enough.

See how,

They skirt,

The edges of sanity.

See how,

Far out of touch,

They get,

When it's too tough,

In the here-an'- now,

Reality.
 

See how,

With death,

They tease,

An'  disaster,

They flirt.

See how,

They live,

Out in the cold,

Naked to the rain.

See how,

The wounds,

That leave no scars,

Never stop to hurt.

Filling their eyes,

With so much pain.
 

See how,

They scurry,

Like rats in the shadows,

Of alley an' street.

See how,

They hurry,

To hide,

At the slightest sound.

See how,

They fight,

Like animals,

Over spoiled pieces of meat.

While scrounging through the ruins,

Rubble strewn,

All around.
 

See how,

They kill,

One another,

For so little to eat.

See how,

Far and fast,

They can run.

See how,

They stay alive,

With no shoes on their feet.

Surviving,

Under the rule,

Of the gun.
 

See how,

They bicker,

An' fight.

See how,

They argue,

Over what is,

Black an' White.

See how,

They all,

Want to be,

The only one Left,

That is Right.

Beside,

The Dark,

An' the Light.
 

See how,

They live,

To die.

See how,

They give,

Their best try.

See how,

They make it through,

Each day,

To earn their pay.

See how,

They,

No longer laugh.

See how,

They,

No longer cry.

See how,

They,

Get cut down in half,

With no answer,

Or reason,

Why.
 

See how,

They escape,

The pan,

Into the fire.

See how,

They cease,

To comprehend.

See how,

They rape,

The land,

To build their funeral pyre.

Turning into beasts,

No longer are they men.
 

See how,

Even the good,

Can backslide.

See how,

Tall they stood,

Before they fell,

To the wayside.

See how,

Much,

They misunderstood,

The purpose,

They did abide,

Little they understood,

Their fanaticied.
 

See how,

The man in charge,

Lied.

See how,

He doesn't do,

What he said,

He could.

See how,

Our world,

Is taken for a wild ride,

While he does hide,

Behind his,

Veil of good.
 

See how,

They empty the purse,

To keep their,

Exotic tastes.

See how,

They take,

All we're worth,

Deserting the problems,

In great haste.
 

See how,

They leave us,

With their curse,

And our fates,

After turning the Earth,

Into barren wastes.
 

Copyright © 1993 by Alexander McDonald

All rights reserved.