May 1 2015

The Death Penalty in Australia – a poem

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THE DEATH PENALTY IN AUSTRALIA
a poem by Simon Camilleri

I weep as lives are taken

By a law so cold and strange.

I wonder why the government

Has not done more for change.

I shake my head at such a waste

Oh, what their lives could give!

Who knows what good they could have done

If they were free to live?

I hope one day we’ll value

Every life as having worth,

And learn that killing will not solve

The problems of the earth.

So do you #standformercy?

And will you stand with me?

And will you weep as lives are lost

Due to this tragedy?

Well, just before you answer,

Let me clear something please…

I’m not talking about the deaths

Of Aussies overseas.

Though stopping the death penalty

In Bali’s a good cause,

We have a worse injustice

Right at home upon our shores.

It’s Australia’s own death penalty.

Abortion is its name.

And every single year

100 thousand lives it claims.

I weep as lives are taken

By a law so cold and strange.

I wonder why the government

Has not done more for change.

I shake my head at such a waste

Oh, what their lives could give!

Who knows what good they could have done

If they were free to live?

I hope one day we’ll value

Every life as having worth,

And learn that killing will not solve

The problems of the earth.

So do you stand for mercy?

And will you stand with me?

And will you weep as lives are lost

Due to this tragedy?

(1686)

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Posted May 1, 2015 by Simon in category "Life", "Poetry

4 COMMENTS :

  1. By Kathy on

    I love it, Simon: I hope many people read this and think about it deeply.

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