Shades of grey
Colours on your face
Pain wrenched from tight clenched
fists
No compromise in trying to exist
But blood cannot wash away
These shades of grey
Touch
Touch their skin with your hands
Still you won’t understand
Nothing you do and nothing you say
Will ever remove
The shades of grey
Look in your heart
Take a look in my eyes
Everyday innocent men still die
And every day
We drift further away
Into these shades of grey
This was the first poem I ever wrote back in my late teens. It was a time when apartheid was entrenched in South Africa and many atrocities were occurring in Central and South America. I had become involved with Amnesty International and protest movements. This poem was a result of over hearing a discussion between my brother and his friend about the death penalty. I remember hearing the phrase "too many grey areas...". It didn't take much more than 5 minutes to write the poem.
ReplyDelete