REQUIEM : AN EPIC FOR OUR TIME:

Let us pray they say for those led astray
For the guards & executioners given orders by the righteous ones
to humiliate & degrade
to nearly drowning a thousand times
telling them they cannot pray
taking away their Holy Books
let us pray
for all the soldiers their souls corrupted
committing unthinkable acts of barbarity
raping & murdering
walking in the footsteps of a thousand years of crusading
we fight for God we are told
Love your enemy no hell kill him
kill them all to end it forever
to purify the world in fire -

thousands hide away in prisons the world round
as the Empire of America expands
needing more of everything -

all the poets feeding their angst
delving into the horrors of history
searching for The Golden Age
finding only illusion
finding only madness
finding no meaning beyond survival -

Requiem : An Epic for our time

Part II: The Weight of History

ah to write an epic for our time
of the death of the west
as it reverts to old ways
its old fears realized
in a hostile world
peopled by those different from ourselves -

as the west takes the easy way out
selling off ideals for wealth
selling our souls for pieces of silver
selling our wondrous dreams
of freedom equality & compassion
to the highest bidder
bearing false witness
against all who stood by us
when we were down on our luck
avoiding all who saw us
at our worse
denying our past
favoring a rewrite of our history
justifying all we have done
oppression slavery genocide
all in the name of God & democracy
& the triumph of the West -

Forgetting the past remaking ourselves
reinventing ourselves in our arrogance
unwilling to ask for forgiveness
refusing to see our crimes
refusing to take responsibility
for all our misdeeds
refusing to humble ourselves
before our countless victims

knowing our failings
denying our failings
seeing ourselves as heroes
denying the worth of others
denying the dignity of others
becoming what once we hated
becoming what once we feared
as we make our claims to our destiny
becoming the world conquerors
becoming the worlds oppressors -

Requiem: An Epic For Our Time
Part III: Our Deconstruction

as we day by day piece by piece
rip-out the last bits of our humanity
laughing at the failings of others
laughing at the pain of others
laughing at the suffering & death of others
who are not as worthy as we
laughing at all who wish to do good
laughing at all who sacrifice for another
laughing at all who speak of love & compassion
laughing at all who speak of integrity
laughing at all who speak of honor
laughing at all who speak of tolerance

laughing at all who speak of truth & justice -

praising those who’ve turned lying into an art
praising those who’ve replaced truth with propaganda
praising those who only live for themselves
praising those who use others as stepping stones
praising those who only live for pleasure
praising those who only desire to amass wealth
praising the greedy opportunist
praising the power-hungry who prey on the weak -

destroying all those who stand in our way
destroying all those who see through our lies
destroying all those who dare disagree
destroying all who question our true motives
destroying all who dare not fear us -