Is this a holy thing to see…? – William Blake
by David Betteridge
Here, in a world where wealth abounds,
life’s necessities run out,
purposely held back by evil’s hand.
This is a man-made wilderness,
a ghetto in hell’s deepest hell,
a place of torment, a no-man’s-land.
Here infants, starved of their mother’s milk,
wither to their little bones,
and, loud in their pain,
in their legions die.
This is land where saints and prophets
once championed good.
Now full-blown cruelty is king,
and thugs and statesmen,
its courtiers, routinely kill for it,
and thieve for it,
and, when challenged, lie.
Where in the world might a force
be found, or raised, to counter this,
and – impossibly? – to make a start
to make amends?
Where on earth?
we cry.
