When
I saw the famine victims of Ethiopia
I
said I felt no sympathy for their plight
Flies
busy around eyes nose and mouth
I
said I felt nothing certainly not contrite
Why
did they still have babes at the breast?
Making
babies after four years of famine
They
could make babies but not find food
Suffering
in ways I could not imagine
I
refused to be affected by the images
When
I saw aids sufferers on television
I
was Angry at the emotional blackmail
I
said that my heart felt no compassion
When
I saw the famine victims of Ethiopia
I
said I felt no sympathy for their plight
Flies
busy around eyes nose and mouth
I
said I felt nothing certainly not contrite
Why
did they still have babes at the breast?
Making
babies with lesions on the skin
They
could make babies despite illness
Suffering
in ways I could not imagine
I
refused to be affected by the images
When
I saw aids sufferers on television
I
was Angry at the emotional blackmail
I
said that my heart felt no compassion
When
I see the suffering in the world
I
feel helplessness for their awful plight
Flies
busy around eyes nose and mouth
Because
they had no strength left to fight
Of
course, they still had babes at the breast
Because
making babies is just life continuing
They
could still make babies despite all
Suffering
in ways beyond my imagining
It’s
impossible not to be affected by images
When
I see the suffering on television
Despite
the cruel emotional blackmail
Of
course, my heart feels compassion