here we are
sons and daughters
of past
of present
of future
here we are
off to war we trod
our once bright souls
now dull, unshod
bent double by the weight
of vainglorious expectation
beneath the gaze
of a blind
or uncaring god

here we are
robbed of joy
sent with inbred hate
to kill brothers
to kill sisters
or die trying
for the sake of
political hubris

here we are
proxies of weak-willed men
destined to water foreign fields
with a blood stolen, spilled out
as wine from broken amphora

here we are
dread shadows in your darkness
waiting patiently to show
how long your chains did grow
a damnation you yourself did sew

and we
one day
will laugh