I Was Not Born To Follow # 2 Poem by Eric Cockrell

i am the nail half-bent,
....tossed to the side,
......rusted by the rain.

the body of the young man shot
...left in the streets,
.....the bullet, and the silence.

the trembling hand that lights the pipe,
....and the anger deep inside.
......the young woman giving birth,

the light that screams for darkness.
...the door latch broken
.....on the vacant house,

and the roar of the empty.
...the waves that break the barricade,
.....leaving dead fish on the sand.

the telegram sent,
...the casket, the flag,
.....the mother's tears unspoken.

the ache, the crucifix, the reaching hand,
......the family left 'neath the bridge;
........the orphaned child, the jobless bum,

i was not born to follow!