Listen to the bell ring,
not knowing for whom it tolls.
What idea has passed,
what idea has been born?
These days we turn with fear
in our eyes at every sound.
It never used to be this way.
What has changed us, now?
The world is the same place it was,
the Earth below,
Heaven above,
but we have changed our minds
because,
we were told it would be better.
Who does our thinking of us?
Who forms our beliefs and extorts us,
who starts the wars
and forces us
to choose a side?
Who asks us to shut up and die?
Will we remember this time?
Can we keep our minds
together this time?
Will history be erased
in our haste
to conform,
to confine?
There is still hope.
There is still a chance.
We can still decide
to throw off the shackles
and advance.
Or we can put our heads down,
close our eyes
and stay in line.
The future
will reveal
our crimes.
We only have this moment,
this one song,
this one life.
None of us are wrong,
if none of us are right.
We’re in this together,
only winning if we fight.
It’s easy to tune out the bell,
when it’s ringing all the time.
HG – 2021
