HANDS DIRTY

HANDS DIRTY

Into the trenches I go, my boots laced high to stomp through the nonsense,
My gas mask secured to handle the stench of the lies.

This hideous world is enough to give me pause
And I am poised and ready to get hands dirty for the cause.

Into the sludge waist high I go wading, to the depths of despair I descend.
Whispered truths that you cannot count on, flagrant lies you cannot defend.

The earth is slipping into hell, global warming, NOx and SOx.
Water that’s not fit to drink, state secrets in a cold steel box.

George W. lies through the gold in his teeth, his stimulus checks bring little relief,
The clocks on the mantel are stopped at high noon,
The eagle flies on bended claws,
And I am poised and ready, to get hands dirty for the cause.

Into the river Jordan with its history proud and grand,
I wade like John the Baptist, but there’s blood upon my hands.
And like the rest of humankind, I must shoulder half the blame,
For the scores of wars that have gone before, fought in my country’s name.

The world is spinning off it axis, military suicides,
The few, the proud are going down on this grand Iraqi thrill ride.
It’s enough to make you wonder, it’s enough to give you pause.
But I am armed and ready, to get hands dirty for the cause.

Into the shining streets, with rainbow flags in hand,
We kiss our lovers openly, in a moment rare and grand.
One nation under a questionable God and a nation of questionable laws,
‘til gay and straight roll up their sleeves and get hands dirty for the cause.

The dreams of Martin Luther King, the peaceful ways of Gandhi,
Must rise from death and thrive again, alive in this democracy.
And one day we shall overcome in a world awash in flaws,
And roll up our collective sleeves and get hands dirty for the cause.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2008
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED