The Battle.... (We Have Fought)
the battle we have fought for so long,
as a 'free' society...
in the name of justice, equality, diversity,
responsibility, and freedom...
has reached the point of decision.
we either move forward no matter
what the cost...
believing the dream is worth the price...
or we crawl back into the cave
of self-fulfillment at the cost of all others.
prejudice and discrimination have gone from color
to religion to sex and sexual orientation,
and now to those enslaved by poverty.
we cannot turn our backs on each other...
we cannot allow the few to destroy the world.
we are responsible, we are a part of each other.
when one is hungry, we are all hungry.
when one family is homeless, we are all homeless.
when one person is a victim
of prejudice, hatred, and injustice...
we all are!
when one eats, all should eat.
when one has a chance to work,
all should have that chance...
when one child gets an education,
all should have that right.
this is the time, and this is the place...
it is now that we must choose!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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In Every Way!
how many people are blind?
how many people are deaf?
how many by choice?
perhaps you still have jobs,
homes, food to eat, medical care.
perhaps you have investments,
a way to retire....
perhaps your family is happy,
and well taken care of...
i hope so for you!
millions of people hurting,
millions in need...
millions of children hungry,
millions who cant get an education.
millions enslaved by poverty,
millions left alone....
people with faces and names.
all of these are normal people.
whatever their language, their religion,
their sexual orientation.
all of these are people just like you.
and many of these have families,
just like you!
is it their fault they're victims?
perhaps they've worked their whole lives.
male, female, young, old.....
all people,
with mothers and fathers....
all people....
and no, America is not free.
the news we watch is tainted.
the truth is hidden from us.
killing people around the world
does not make us free....
books are being banned and burned,
prejudice and discrimination are rampant.
we have forgotten we are responsible for each other,
we have forgotten we are all immigrants here.
there are no illegal people,
all people are just people.
freedom demands equality,
in every way!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Candle
if we lit a candle tonite
for every child that's hungry,
for every family that's homeless,
for every drug addict without hope,
for every soldier fighting
in an unholy war
for every immigrant
fighting for a chance,
for every prisoner
that becomes a victim
of the system.
for every victim
of violent crimes.
for every husband and wife
who cant find their way,
and give up and walk away.
for every child with a disability
that doesnt get a fair chance.
for every child that grows up
without a father or mother.
for every person who feels
deserted by God.
for every person afraid
to be who they are
for every victim of prejudice,
whether it be racial, religious,
or sexual.
for every person alone,
without hope or direction.
we'd have a fire so bright
it'd light the universe.
the fire of compassion.
warming the feet of humanity!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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We Cannot Have Trust And Justice
We cannot have trust and justice if we deny the truth
If in the face of prejudice we do remain as mute
Where one race feels superior to another there never can be trust
Let us drink to equality and what is right and just
In our narrow society where rank is seen as good
And where the true meaning of equality by most not understood
We cannot have equality and a fair go for all
If not one prejudice free society of which one can recall
In the 21st century we have not learned from the past
For old prejudices and hatreds in our time seem to last
As long as there is an underclass and as long as there is poverty
We will never even take one step closer to equality
The past may be behind us but the past from us not gone
As discrimination, war and poverty are things that do live on.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Our Level Of Responsibility!
our level of responsibility
far deeper than our occasional
stabs at compassion, and truth...
when we sit down to eat, and eat
far more than we need, and throw
the leftovers out... we are
responsible fot the hungry!
when we go to sleep at night, in
houses too big and too plush, we
are responsible for the homeless...
when we drive our SUV's around for
no reason at all, burning excess
gas, we are responsible for the
oil spills...
when we vote people in office,
whose agenda is profit at all costs,
we are responsible for countries
invaded...
when we turn our backs and walk away,
or stick our heads in the sand, we are
responsible for the loss of human rights...
when we allow the banning of books, and
legislation against free speech, we are
responsible for ignorance, and allow
ourselves to be enslaved!
responsible, every thought, every intent,
every action!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Close Your Mouth!
close your mouth!
if a man is hungry,
feed him!
if a man is sick,
give him medical care.
if a man is homeless,
take him in.
if your leaders demand war,
vote them out,
or overthrow them.
if your system is unjust,
tear it down and start over.
if any other person,
regardless of color, politics,
religion, or sexual orientation,
comes to you...
respect them!
if they come to in in need,
help them.
if they are oppressed,
free them!
mouth still closed?
then your path is true!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Refuse!
i refuse
to accept the lie
anymore!
i know, beyond a doubt,
that all people are equal,
regardless of color, gender,
religion, financial status, or
political beliefs!
i refuse to believe
that i am all right,
when someone else
is hungry, homeless, or hurting.
i refuse to believe
that i am not responsible,
for i am most responsible
when i turn away!
i refuse to believe
that one person's success
can come at the expense of another!
i refuse to settle!
i choose life, and life means living...
involved!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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What Color? (Hope)
what color
was the dust
from which the stars
were made?
what color is the hunger
written on the child's face?
what color is justice,
forgiveness, desire, truth?
what color is the wind....
the rain, gravity,
and knowledge?
what color is equality?
what color is freedom?
what color is eternity?
what color is redemption?
what color is God?
what color were the nails
that hung Jesus on the cross?
what color was enlightenment
falling on the Buddha as he sat
'neath that tree?
what color is prejudice, hatred,
fear, greed, apathy.....
what color your skin?
nay, what color is your blood?
and what color are the eyes
of humanity staring through the darkness?
and what color is hope?
poem by Eric Cockrell
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The Disease....
homelessness, joblessness, and hunger are not statistics.
they are people, with real faces, real hearts, and
real bodies... made in the image of god.
has nothing to do with race, religion, language,
sexual orientation, or citizenship...
it has to do with basic need....
a dollar in the cup, a prayer, and a shaking of the
head will not do!
these people are part of your family.
bottom line, we are responsible... for each other,
for the state of the world, for need, for poverty...
and we are responsible for our own indifference!
we cannot begin to say we believe in god, any god...
that we are a moral and ethical people, that we believe
in justice and equality, and that we are human...
without addressing and eradicating these atrocities!
if we do not become the cure, then we are the disease!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Justice And Equality.....
justice and equality...
two very human dreams,
and the hope that allows us
to bring children into the world!
cannot be defined by color,
nationality, religion, or sex...
cannot be regulated by class,
cannot be different for those
who have and those who have not...
cannot allow poverty,
cannot allow hunger,
cannot allow oppression...
to continue!
must be worked for...
everyone has a part,
everyone has a responsibility.
respect,
dignity,
hard work,
sharing of needs...
we are destined to be family.
nations are egos,
we are citizens of the world.
the man fighting to feed his family
across the ocean is your brother.
the ones you're dropping bombs on
are your children.
the ones you kill crossing the border
looking for hope have the faces of god.
justice and equality...
think about it!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Free!
free!
free to be hungry!
free to be homeless!
free to be underpaid!
or worse, free to be unemployed.
free to be sick without care!
free to be the object of racial prejudice.
free to be oppressed by the 'haves'!
free to be subjugated to unholy wars!
free to be lied to!
free to be used!
free to be American!
free!
'freedom's just another word
for nothing left to lose! '
kris kristofferson
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Come!
come...
let us wash our bloody hands
in the river that does not choose.
let us take our veangeful hearts
and lay them at the door.
let us dropp our arrogant poses,
and reveal who we are.
let us forgive, and be forgiven...
for every child that dies of starvation,
for every bomb that's dropped.
for every homeless family,
for every broken home.
for every prisoner, every victim,
every hater, and their hate...
for every man and women beaten down,
living day to day in poverty.
for every winner and every loser,
for every unwanted baby...
for every war,
for every tree cut down,
for the smoke that fills our skies,
the oil that defiles our waters...
for every deal made at the expense of humanity...
for every lie sold as the truth!
for every bullet,
for every nuclear accident,
for every act of discrimination...
for every prayer not prayed.
for every apathetic action,
and inaction...
for every voice of freedom
we allow to be imprisoned or killed.
for every chance we let pass by,
for every time we just walk away...
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE!
come!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Children Should Not Have To Be Homeless
There are thousands of homeless children in Beijing in China though that is not suprising to hear
For where there is a huge population there is poverty too 'twould appear
And China to anywhere else is no different the rich getting richer they say
And just beyond the leafy suburb is the suburb of neglect and decay.
There are thousands of homeless children in New York though with that some may not agree
In America the great Land of commerce no such a thing as poverty?
But the facts of course will tell you differently and in a World of inequality
There too are children homeless and hungry in the so called Land of the free.
There are homeless children in London in England as well as in Paris in France
The poor children of the poor suburb in life they do not have a chance
Their parents in Jail for drug abuse they become the kids of the street
They search the rubbish bins for food in dark alleys and what others do throw out they eat.
There are homeless children in Sydney and Melbourne and anywhere else one might name
Though that does not seem to affect us we never reflect on our shame
That many should have to grow poorer for one to become a millionaire
In a truly egalatarian society would never be looked on as fair.
Children should not have to be homeless though born into abject poverty
They should not be punished for the sins of their parents so much for our humanity
And money to some all that matters and money is married to success
Whilst the children of the poor live homeless on the street of the No Fixed Address.
poem by Francis Duggan
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So Many Poor Souls And Not Many Who Care
So many poor souls and not many who care
Are doing it quite tough in the big World out there
The homeless and hungry teenagers of poverty street
Are searching in rubbish bins for something to eat
The gap is increasing in the social divide
And millions are Stateless and Homeless and hungry World wide
The victims of droughts and wars and disease
In the refugee camps millions of refugees.
The marginalized are doing it quite tough
On poverty street they are sleeping rough
People should not have to go hungry in the World of today
But such is not the case that does seem sad to say
For one wealthy person thousands in poverty
Those who need far more than words of sympathy
People who look old before they reach their life's prime
To be born to poor parents is their only crime.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Freedom Demands Action!
this be not a free country...
as long as one child goes hungry,
one child cant afford to go to school....
as long as there are unemployment lines,
as long as there are vacant houses,
and homeless families.
as long as our sons and daughters
are sacrificed to the gods of war.
as long as our elderly cant get medical care.
as long as they burn and ban books,
as long as one is censored for speaking truth....
as long as the religion we profess
denies the rights of other religions.
as long as the young gay couple,
who want to adopt a child,
a child that no one wants...
cant get married.
as long as justice is bought and sold,
and is different for different colors.
freedom demands action!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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How Do We Deal With Prejudice?
even those of us who've worked very hard
at not being prejudiced, have some type of
prejudice remaining. for example:
it could be prejudice by color, over religion,
over political views, concerning sexual orient-
ation.... prejudice against those who have money,
or those who dont! ...etc.
all prejudice is wrong by nature, most of it grounded
in the 'self'... in our own irrational fears, and our
stubborn streak of ignorance....
it's always taught, but doesnt have to be allowed!
it ofen hides under the banner of morality, or the
flags of patriotism...
we battle prejudice by being open minded, being
willing to listen, and learning to see ourselves
in other people...
if we say we have no prejudices, we have lost,
and prejudice has us bound.
if we admit our prejudices, name them, look at
them with naked eyes and resolve, then we're making
headway....
prejudice in the end is humanity failing to be human!
being human is a 24 hour a day,7 days a week job!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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The Same As I
i get so tired
of writing poems
about suffering....
but everywhere i look,
all around me,
people are hurting....
and try as i might,
i cant close my eyes,
cant shut my ears up
to the sounds of need and want.
and i cannot be silent
as long as there's one person
who is not free,
one person whose rights
have been violated....
one person who is hungry,
one person who is homeless,
one person sick who cannot
get medical care....
one person abused, enslaved,
or treated like property...
i cannot, and i will not stop,
for they are the same
as i... i see their faces
every time i look in the mirror!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Thoughts
which is more threatening? the cost of war? or the cost of feeding
the hungry, healing the sick, and housing the homeless?
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Dhammic Socialism
if you break down the teachings...
of Jesus, Buddha, and all the great
spiritual teachers...
looked at their lives,
and their paths,
would this not be it?
break down prejudice,
profit, and materialism...
to the core of our beings,
we are family.
we need each other,
need to be needed by each other.
compassion demands
that we are responsible!
the fact that we allow
people to go hungry,
to be homeless,
to suffer...
while we seek to acquire
with insatiable thrust...
is nauseating!
the fact that we go to war
over territories and oil...
killing women and children,
is atrocious!
we are part of each other...
individual parts,
but parts of the whole.
we are responsible,
to and for each other.
not nations, not parties,
but communities,
involved, living
to and for each other...
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Education!
education, education, education!
every child, regardless of race,
gender, religion, or living status....
deserves the same chance
for a good education!
quit laying off teachers!
lay off corrupt brokers!
lay off ineffective politicians!
give the children a chance!
it will cost us more if we dont!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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If One.....
if one word
could change the world,
i'd say it,
and go home.
if one action
would stop the wars,
i'd do it,
whatever the cost.
if one intent
could change the way
we see each other,
i'd follow it
to my grave.
if one desire
could feed the hungry,
it would be,
my only desire!
if one life
would pay the cost,
that brings freedom,
and equality to all...
i'd pay the price today!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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