Where Are the Heroes?

Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
--Horace Mann, First President, Antioch College, Ohio

All dressed up in our Sunday best
A handsome sight to see
Standing tall in reverential awe
But not on bended knee.
Close by a hymnal
Neatly tucked behind a wooden pew
Reserved for those who praise the Lord
The brave, the proud, the few?

Maybe.  

Beyond the stain of sin and glass
Across the land and sea
There weeps a mother
Who wants only rest—or death
Where darkness sets her free;
Free from hunger dirt and grime
A drink of water a morsel of food
Not for self but for her children three.

Around the globe where temperatures climb
And coastal waters rise
And food supplies recede
The rich get richer
The poor get poorer
Who cares about their needs?

They say there’s a time for everything
Under the sun
A time to sow a time to reap
A time to pray a time to weep
A time to build a wall
To save us from the worst of all
The fight for dignity.