Dear

When every sound becomes nothing,
Where any sound is muted,
All cries are suppressed,
Each command subdued –
Can you hear it?

Are there deafening screams?
Are there anguished sobs?
Rushing winds howl about,
Besieging closed ears;
What do you hear?

We pray for a better world,
We promise to be good,
As to help one another as we can,
But where is hope,
If we cannot hear?

Why cannot we hear,
Hear the tearful wailings,
Of children unlike children,
Of people unlike people,
Our brothers we do not know?

There is silence in our world,
Emptiness filled with dejection,
Love without love.
Dreams will end,
But nightmares are only forgotten.

“Hope” and “faith” are merely words,
Their meanings are silent,
They have no significance
In the reality of fantasy,
For who can act upon them?

So reveal your songs,
Your prayers of salvation;
Speak out loud,
The world will change—
And I will listen.