I heard a mother weep again;
her son lay dying in the street.
And does it matter how he died,
or who it was that held the gun?
Injustice wears too many cloaks,
in colors of the brutal street.
In black, or white, or blue, or red,
a bullet is invisible.
The mother weeps for justice sake,
beyond her pain and utter grief.
And humankind must own the blame,
for her son is the same as mine.
For her son is the same as yours.
He never had much of a chance.
The fault of inequality,
to thus deny a man his dream,
diminishes all of us with shame.
To fail to feel this mother's pain,
denies our only chance to heal.
To fail to act to end the death,
condemns us to a hopeless world.
The greatest poem ever written, in my opinion, on the matter was a long poem by Giannis Ritsos, the Epitaphius -1936.It was made a song by M.Theodorakis.Try, Barry, to find it in english translated.//Yours brings in front of us vividly aproblem we should have in mind.
Fine and inspiring. This poem speaks the language of the body politic. It testifies to the hurt that ripples though that body after so many senseless shootings. I am struck by the contrast between COLORS OF THE BRUTAL STREET, which cloak injustice, and the invisibility of the bullet. I used to think colors are reasons for pride but as a citizen it's hard to stay proud when sanctity of life is not respected. Thanks for penning this poem that brings our shared hurt into focus I will put it in my favorites and give it a 10.
Thank you Denis for the review. This is a topic that never seems to go away.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
I heard a mother weep again; her son lay dying in the street. And does it matter how he died, or who it was that held the gun? - - - - - - -When terrorism has become a daily ritual of today's world, when there is a killing, it is the mother who loses her son or daughter to bullets or bombs.A heart touching poem that speaks against injustice which may come in many cloaks., SUBMIT
Thank you very much for the comment. Our only hope is that some do feel the pain of so much injustice.