Feed the birds

You would not treat so lightly a helpless little stray,

a fledgling, small and fragile, got lost upon its way,

you would not think to shut the door and close the poor mite out,

but serve the milk of kindness, of that there is no doubt.

You would not give a second glance to second best, or less,

or pause the while and contemplate why you are safely kept,

as warm and wrapped within your world, you rarely wonder why

what is more precious formed than gold is often left to die.

Thus, still it is, the mother rocks a young child to her breast;

whose belly empty of all hope is not so equal blessed,

whose comfort grows more thin and cold with every passing day

whilst the flicker frame of conscience most looks the other way.

Whose children are these anyway? Who suffer unto him,

their every dream crushed by the hand of mankind's greatest sin;

whose eyes that held the future are now dulled for ever more,

like flotsam tossed indifferent on some cold and distant shore.

And when the night is closing, as clouds blank out the moon,

do you dream of all those little souls sent up to God too soon,

do you sleep in clearest conscience, the task considered done

and think you know the difference from what's lost and what is won.

And we ought never know again the whipcrack of the gun,

the fusing of the atom, the splitting of the sun;

but will we ever learn enough to stay the cruel hand,

or will memory fade, as it ever has, to the shifting of the sand.

Reviews

[CD Campbell]

This is brilliant. I have Kiplings whole poetic collection in one huge volume that I read at least once a day and this reminds me of him to a tee. I love Kipling! Every stanza stands out like a reverberating bugle blast. I'm wondering how long it took to write this and I am very anxious for a repeat. No pressure right? CD

[emmajoy]

So lovely. I think of St. Francis, the best of traditional poetry, the shifting of thought bad to good, prayers said by big and small, and a hope for what should be inherent to society. Iin other words, your poem is utterly and warmly inspirational.

[Nisreen]

You write in such a wonderful way
The cycle we all live within
placing the importance of our actions within an undermined stance
I see the kindness you display towards a bird speaks so much
The sense of emotion within each line
Your heart is very much in this poem

[Ken Simm.]

Its like I've found this in a treasured old book. That is one of the reasons I like it. I will take it out on occasion and revel in its language.

[Great Aunt Astri]

Love the near rhymes '' less kept, breast blessed, and the alliteration 'flicker flame'. Nicely written

[h d e rushin]

You're so damn good Beccy.....You took me back to my childhood where this kind of poetry was my
entry into this love affair....thank you for sharing your gift with us my friend...dana

[Moody]

Whoa, some brilliant stuff going on here! It feels like a life lesson. Loved it

[The Twin Arenas]

"whipcrack" is nice.
The piece reminds me of some philosopher I read in college whose thing was ethics - like, questions of ethics. Would you hesitate to jump into a river to save a kid? Of course not.....but what if the river was on the other side of the world etc...Good piece. You write well. Coleridge traces.

[...]

A very touching and thoughtful poem, my dear poet, and I LOVE the title. People don't often give thought to things that seemingly don't effect them...but, we are all effected by it. Remarkable!

[Chris]

a thought-full and timeless piece Beccy

[Donald Meikle]

You have definitely done your duty as a poet with this one Beccy.
Well written and points the Way.