This poem I wrote as a stream of consciousness, then went back and started editing, as I do many poems. But as I was doing this I felt like I was taking some of the soul out of it. I felt like this one just needed to be raw, so I am going to include both the abridged, somewhat edited version and the original stream of consciousness in this post.
Abridged version:
Another life we ended today
Its light washed away
By this war of “we” and “they.”
A nameless casualty
For rights and wrongs.
Another life you took today
With every word you say
Against your neighbor in this way.
Not one syllable will he hear
As every letter wears your soul.
Another life we gave to hate
Telling our neighbor to fear his mate.
Another life we took today
Not of the stray
We love far less
But of ourselves so filled with hate
We forget the word we stand for
Has four letters of its own:
Look out for those who cannot see
Obey the word of your father
Value no thing above your brother
Endeavor for a world of peace
An order we were given
By the commander of life
But it only is applied
Where it is needed least.
Our orders are simple:
To be patient, to be kind,
To be as our greatest calling.
To have faith, to have hope,
To have the greatest of them all.
Another life we have taken today
With hate as our speech
Each and every day.
Original:
Another life we ended today
Its light snuffed out
By this war of righteousness
A nameless casualty
For rights and wrongs.
Another life we gave to hate
Telling our neighbor to fear his friend.
An order we were given
By the commander of life
But we only apply it
Where it is needed least.
We beg others to stop feeding the fire
While we carry logs of our own.
Each of us driven by a desire
To do what is right
We fall to the lies told of those
The wicked labels our enemy.
Blind by the story told by those
Who lead us astray
We ignore the guidance of the light
Leading to the joy we we claim to preach.
Another life we took today
Not of our neighbor
We love far less
But of ourselves so filled with hate
We forget the word we stand for
Has four letters of its own:
Look out for those who cannot see
Obey the word of your father
Value no thing above your brother
Endeavor for a world of peace
Another life you took today
With every word you say
Against your neighbor in this life.
Not one syllable will he hear
As each and every letter tears down your soul.
When I bow my head tonight
For our broken minds I pray.
When hate becomes our language
The enemy takes his lap.
Every word brings with it a tear
So no longer do I hear
The truth we claim to believe.
Our orders are simple:
To be patient, to be kind,
To be as our greatest calling.
To have faith, to have hope,
To have the greatest of them all.
Another life we have taken today
And every day we let hate be our speech.
