Who's Fault?

 

Who’s Fault?

 

The clock on a nearby college strikes.

Sun sets bathing earth in golden glow.

All is at peace, I am at rest

 

Scent of flowers drifts on evening air

While wisps of fragrance float from windows

where food is prepared; soon we shall eat

 

and drink, sampling bounties that await

fine meats, fine wines, fruits and herbs

Provender for contented lives.

 

The sun is over the thornbush, low and red

Tribesmen straggle home, hungry

Tired from fruitless hunt and, as yet, unfed.

 

Beneath a tattered shred, a swarm of flies,

A milk-less mother holds a wretched scrap

Of what will soon be dead humanity.

 

What caused the refugee camps, soil erosion,

Dire inflation, land waste, slaughter,

One word please, reader?

 

I hear the college clock again even as I feed

Tis only seven, why then does it strike midnight?

I know the word – just one – GREED.

 

My comfort does not cause another’s grief,

Does it?

Neither does the greed of an expenses thief

in British Parliament,

Does it?

Or the banker’s bonus for losing the money of the poor,

Does it?

Power hunger of the African dictator?

Religious fervour of zealots?

The frightening marches of riot and agitation?

Acquisitive power of multinationals?

The self-righteousness of psychopathic terrorists?

Even the  laziness of those who just won’t work

But still want the benefits?

Do they?

Think on these things - - - - - - - - -   -   -   -    -

What a world we live in!

Don’t we?

 

John L Berry, 24 September 2009. 

Author's Note

No image - Just imagine all the hungry, homeless faces you've seen om TV this century. Feel proud?

Reviews

[An owl on the moon]

Your words pierce through the smug pride that so often reduces humanity to simply ME and what I want... How many suffer? Is there anything I can do? I know I can't feed the world, but I can help one... I truly don't want my life to simply be about me... Thank you for a write that challenges us to think beyond these four walls we see. I'm willing to go...

[Essie]

i must say this poem is incredibly intriguing and keeps me thinking well after i've finished reading- and to me, i think that's the one of the most substantial thing a poem can do. it seems to present the connection between one individual's actions and the effect on the surrounding world. altogether, i enjoyed this poem thoroughly.

-essie

[Liza]

finding fault will only help the victim fall deeper....helpless and unworthy. how do we empower those fallen without making them feel that they had no control or never will have control? i enjoyed this thought provoking write.

[Craig Bates]

John, it has been a while since I've read anything of yours on here (or anyone elses, for that matter!) but the first thing that strikes me is that your writing seems to carry with it such a strong awareness of everything else. There is the content of the poem, but that isn't what the world revolves around. Here it is obvious, you make self-centredness the the focus of the poem. You also introduced me to Pablo Neruda and I feel a similar rhythm at work here. Establish a sense of calm with beautiful, lazy imagery before turning that around for a political focus.

A little preachy perhaps, but sometimes a smack in the face works better than a quiet word in your ear.

[Markymark]

No I don't John. Haven't been around much lately. Once again your poem evokes an inward search, a question unable to be answered...avarice...yes it contributes more to the world plight than anything else. Great write.