Antidisestablishmentarianism

ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM

Put down your rocks, people,

Lay down your gun.

The foundation has weakened,

Its dust blots the sun.

Take account of the wounded,

Pray for the dead.

Don’t shout as loudly.

Hear what’s been said.

You once had a reason to take a stand,

But now the causes are lost in the sand.

Beards aren’t important,

Nor is your hair.

Stop being exclusive,

The time’s come to share.

The signs that you tote

Use volatile words,

But no one finds order

Within Mongol hordes.

You had a cause to take and defend,

But now the causes are lost in the wind.

We still see bigotry

And a war in the East.

And still people starve,

While others hold feasts.

You picket and boycott

While our troubles accrue,

Complicating our problems

With the problem of you.

You once had a reason to stand and fight,

But now the causes are lost in the night.

You’re thinking I’m speaking

Radicals and such.

It just goes to show,

Realities a crutch.

I’m talking of us,

Victims and veterans of war,

Afraid of a future

That didn’t happen before.

We once had a reason to take a stand,

But now the causes are lost in the sand.

Illustration: Self-Portrait, 1967