Who disturb our paradise?
Staring from the TV
With empty, dying eyes.
No trace of anger
At the betrayal of the trust
That left them to die like starving dogs
In the famine’s bitter dust.
But if you close your ears, you won’t hear them crying.
If you close your eyes, you won’t see them dying.
And if you close your mind, your heart won’t condemn.
If the future’s born with every birth,
How much is a child’s life worth?
Feed the children of the earth
Or the future dies with them.
Have you seen the madmen
Who strut the world’s stage?
Threatening our destruction
As they prance and preen and rage.
Rattling nuclear sabres
As humanity holds its breath.
Feeding on fear and bigotry
While the children starve to death.
Eric Bogle
