By Fred Rothzeid

Birds sang sweetly somewhere above
Graceful songs that filled the air

And flowed lovingly over flowers

And leaves green upon the trees

And dead upon the forest floor

There, somewhere outside the fence

Beyond where fierce dogs patrolled

The earth turned in time as always

And the world did not take heed

And poison gas descended on those below

And the putrid smell of death rose

And lingered over towers and towns

And cities and universities of higher learning

Had love and logic been betrayed

And courage swallowed by a void

That man had become vile and so afraid

As to strike willingly at the other

Or had hate, unopposed, flourished

As people hid in shadows

Clinging to the comfort of what was

Afraid to challenge what was to come

The answers are what they are

For evil waits

For hope to be forgotten

For people to accept despair

Ignorance does not deflect nor learning protect

Against chaos and the darkness of the soul

So it is and will be

If we know but refuse to remember

If we remember but choose not to act