What Mad has made of Man

This poem was inspired by the events taking place in Gaza and Syria specifically, but it also entails the terrible reality of humanity's indifference and cruelty, in my opinion.

As I looked at the world,

With hard, skeptical eyes,

I thought of all the horrors

And of all the lies

 

I pondered as I watched

The crimes unfold

Do not be foolish enough to think

That nothing remains untold

 

Do you not see?

The foulness on the outside

A mirror reflecting

The humanity that died

 

Do not weep at

The scenes of malice

For weeping is a skill

That offers no solace

 

Gaze, then, upon the truth,

And bask in disgust as you see

What man has made of man

And what they’ve done in the name of He

 

God forgive them for they

Have taken your name in vain

It is not He that orders bloodshed

It is not He that allows pain

 

I grieve for humanity’s loss

For the emptiness that ensued

When man claimed that power

Had no consequences to be rued

 

Perhaps it’s the saddest yet,

That they do not comprehend

The corruption implanted

In their veins from end to end

 

I look, and I can see

The abomination that is the heart

Is it not man’s fault,

For permitting such horrors to start?

 

 

The very soul of humans,

Has ceased to exist

Venality spreads like a plague

And no one seems to resist

 

Try to think happy thoughts, you say

Try not to think about it at all

Who are you to make a difference?

Who are you to answer the call?

 

Sit there and do nothing, then

And dream hard, dream all you can

Perhaps you can ignore,

What man has made of man

 

But I cannot forgive,

Nor can I forget,

The horrors I’ve seen

Of man’s lack of regret

 

Is it not for His mercy

That the world still stands?

Or is it our punishment to suffer

By life’s cruel hands?

 

And is it not sadder, still

To see the extent of man’s ignorance

An eternity of vulgarity

That breeds everlasting arrogance

 

Yet you hold your head up high, man

And tell your child of your power

Tell him of your stories of murder

Of how others under you would cower

 

And take pride in all that you do

And claim that you are right

While they writhe in agony

Because your “pride” forced you to fight

 

Smile at your child

With the same mouth you used

To shout at another’s children

As you left them tattered and bruised

 

 

But do not worry, you say, you lie

“We are the chosen ones”,

Whisper that to them

As the “enemy” stares into your guns

 

And you do not try to justify

The crimes you have done

For who needs justification

When you are the chosen one?

 

Thus, for humanity I weep not

It was lost long ago

I weep instead for God’s mercy

Only He truly knows my woe

 

My ears have become attuned

To the articulate harmony

Of the sound of gunshot

And man’s revolting tyranny

 

Lie to me again, man

And tell me that there is still hope

‘Humanity will always pull through

You just need to offer it a rope’

 

Don’t you dare try to feed me

What you have fed everyone

I will not give you the pleasure

Of thinking that you have won

 

So I look at the world again and think

Although this may be His plan,

“Have I not reason to lament

What man has made of man?”