When?

When?

First published in Mike Hitchen Unleashed Non 19, 2009

I originally wrote and published this a couple of months after the tragedy of 9/11. I have made slight amendments to the original to accommodate the passage of time. It is not great and in terms of composition, it comes nowhere close to being technically correct. However, it is how I felt then - and how I feel now. I am not one to let my feelings take second place to rules or convention.

You ask who I am,
So I will tell you.

I am man.
I am woman.
I am your brother
I am your sister
I am what I and others have created.

You ask when did I become what I am?
You ask, but I can not answer.

When did I stop looking at the world with eyes that saw no evil
And start seeing with eyes that see no good?

When did laughter turn to tears
And wonder turn to suspicion?

When did I stop questioning in search of knowledge
And start questioning in search of lies?

When did make believe stop being harmless
And turn to fatal lies?

When did I stop playing with others
And playing with others lives?

When did children stop holding my hand
And start holding my guns instead?

When did I stop being happy with what I had
And greedy for things others possessed?

When did I stop joyful chattering
And start making speeches of hate?

When did I stop listening for words of wisdom
And start talking words designed to incite?

When did I stop thinking the world was full of wonder
And start thinking it was mine to take?

When did I stop making finger puppets
And start pulling the strings of others?

I see you crying my child
Eyes that once were filled with joy and innocence
Are now filled with tears.

You weep and ask not "When?"

You weep and ask

"Why?"

Wherever you may be - be safe
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