The Poison Underneath

-------The Poison Underneath-------

The poison underneath finally broke the skin

and a boy was shot.

Like the cells of a body to infection in the blood,

a crowd responds,

And the mayor calls on guards to keep a peace

that was never there.

But so it goes when the weight of such power

is held in feeble hands,

And a bandaged wound 

is left unclean.

For peace is a condition of the soul

and the soul of this city has been without rest for a long time.

But why is something so inherently easy 

made so hard to realize in the presence of dis-ease?

Why has such violence - such a public indifference toward the promise of youth -

become necessary before we speak of peace and order?

The progress of our world will ultimately be measured

by how well we preserve that which we already have;

Settling the poison with love.

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