| Mixed Signals We claim to want what’s best for us; at least, that’s what we say But then we draw a line between what we call “us” and “they” When we live in luxury and comfort, do we see The dismal, cold, unsafe environments of poverty? When we are young, we tacitly ignore the old and gray We seldom realize old age will come to us someday We praise words like “empathy”, “respect”, “humility” And stand by while our children think of little else but “ME” We claim to loathe profanity and violence, so it seems But in our entertainment choices, these are common themes We claim to want provisions for old age, safe streets, clean air We claim we want to make it safe for children everywhere And yet so many of us vote for those who’d make things worse By stifling any measure that might thin their backer’s purse We sing our praises to our God, and claim to do His will But do we honestly believe He’d love the guns that kill? The rhetoric is flying and our flags fly far and near But words and gestures are for naught if meanings are unclear For, in the end, when all we own and say is left behind What matters is how we took care of the earth and humankind. |
| Whispers I do not believe that God would whisper things to fools who lie Telling them to send young man to hostile lands to die It does not seem to me that God would offer such advice And if He said “blessed are the meek” would he look at the haughty twice? Would He align Himself with those who favor the richest of men Would He pass over the neediest among us to give to them? I can’t imagine Jesus considering guns a treasured prize Joining the NRA, collecting weapons of human demise I like to think that He would whisper to children of innocent heart And tell them He would not take away the funding for music and art I like to think that He would whisper to the elderly and the ill And tell them they will have health care and be able to pay the bill I think God whispers to us all to love one another each day Yet the party that claims to know Him best forgot what He had to say And, alas, the masses listened instead to the loudest voice they heard And while God whispered gently, the evil noise had the very last word. |