Harm None

Every revelation is its own revolution
In a world which doesn't know trees can scream
Sit someone down and give them the
Ten-minute science talk and maybe,
Just maybe, they will see a wooden fence
And think, "Tree corpses", as if it were
Made of human bones

At the very least you can hopefully
Get them to acknowledge we need the ocean's life to live
Our great war is not a spiritual one but
One of common fucking sense

And what was your reaction when you realized
Emaciated kids made your underwear, because
Under Capital everyone has something
To be ashamed of?

Now for every Daddy's girl, after nineteen years
He doesn't seem to be Superman anymore but maybe
He's still Socrates
I sat down and asked him about
Going to war to save the trees
Because it was the first thing I had felt fervour enough for
To go to war about

So he told me the story of seatbelts
How before a certain point nearly no-one wore them
Until one day one by one the kids
Were about to go for a ride and said
"Wait! Daddy, I don't have my seatbelt on"
So our daddies dutifully buckled the seatbelts
Perhaps realizing they'd just witnessed
The miracle of education

But Socrates has tired of the taste
Of hemlock
And has deep motivation to encourage me not to
Drench my fervour in fire like some Burmese monk
Though secretly I wonder if he thinks
It's okay as long as it's someone else's child
At the same time the trees are falling in a genocide
And Tibet is not freed by China

So I wait for the sink to fill while I'm washing dishes
Sending my sympathies as I think
Om Mani Padme Hum.

And I will admit that I'd prefer peace if it works
But still my urge is to fight the whole world
All I know is that I am more afraid
Of being part of the problem
Than I would ever be
Of being assassinated
The people don't elect philosopher kings
And Earth needs more than worship and talk

Love many,
Trust few,
Do wrong to none.