A very dark cloud has enveloped the Earth,
It is the engine of growth driven by greed,
The creation of wealth, without concern for human need.

This wealth can be seen
As digits on a computer screen,
So when there is a virus or computer error,
It strikes the rich with mental terror.

The rich, live behind walls in their ivory towers,
And use their wealth to gain great power,
To make the laws, and send us to war,
Not of our own choosing.
They sell the bombs, the planes, the tanks,
For wars we seem to be losing,
And stash their profits in offshore banks
Then they steal the land, the oil the gold
The wealth of other nations
And kill the people, the young, the old
Without hesitation.

Peace cannot be gained by any war,
When injustice is the reason we live in fear, and fear theangry poor.
With nothing to lose, so more and more
Use terror as a weapon from season to season

Now there are bombs that can end all life,
If triggered by human error.
So why continue this state of strife,
To live in this age of terror?

@authpoem = Norah Waller

Ninety-three-year-old Norah Waller, a life-long peace campaigner and champion of the United Nations Association of Australia, lives in Darlington WA where she reads the Green Left Weekly and supports local progressive campaigns.

From Green Left Weekly, September 1, 2004.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

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