Don Pearson - Innocence

I have caught tears in my mouth,
washed in the dust of the dead,
burned the grass in the meadows,
watched the fires spread.

I was told by my leaders
to kill in my country’s fight.
Crimes are defined by victors,
We say what’s right.

I flew into a building
to tear apart people’s lives.
I exult in destruction.
No hope survives.

My end is a beginning
to death on a massive scale,
more “collateral damage”,
more children wail.

I just followed my orders,
with no judgement as to wrongs,
dropped bombs where I was told to,
missed the death songs.

I can’t be held to be guilty,
my duty is to obey.
Others will face reprisals,
I’ll walk away.

My faith’s pursuit of money,
Towns round the world are aflame,
Profits require hard decisions,
No one’s to blame.

I don’t care that they’re starving.
I have got targets to meet.
What’s it to me you’re homeless?
Live on the street!

No one on earth can stop me.
I am beyond all their power.
My beliefs have gone global.
This is my hour!

I will raise the old gods here,
worship at altars of gold,
Rip flesh from my opponents,
ravish the old.

Now I can see my future,
I drink the blood of a child,
served in a famous restaurant,
where bones are piled.


(Dedicated to those who are not personally responsible. Without you, this would not be possible./2nd. Sep.2001
verses 3 and 4,18th Sep, following the attack on the World Trade Centre.)

Don Pearson

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/innocence-37/