Ominous Parallels

Though he crawled on his hands and knees
in the center of an African street,
begging for mercy and a chance to live,
his enemy still shot him three times in the head,
while neighbors in their hand-made clothes looked on.

 Though she ran for safety, under
a parked car in an American lot,
screaming for someone to help her survive,
her enemy still shot her until she died,
while shoppers with their shopping carts looked on.

While activists around the globe
shout a canary's wisdom in the mine
and warn of great dangers, should truth disappear,
the hand of injustice unfolds,
to silence what's left of their kind,
while couch-potatoes with their beer and chips look on.

 Sherry Swiney
Copyright © December 11, 1997 All Rights Reserved