Not Just the Eyes That Weep
By John Herlihy

It is not just the eyes that weep;
It is the simple emotion of sadness,
That through every pour seeps,
So that the entire body weeps,
A surrender of all we wish to keep.

It is not the dead that die;
It is the living who suffer and cry,
Little children once cast enchanting spells,
Young men slaughtered by random shells.
Only their story is still left to tell.

It is not just the living who continue to live;
The dead and dying still continue to give,
The soul of who they were and still are,
Their memory now an echo that sounds from afar.
Each of us holds for them the door of the heart ajar.

It is not just the body of an individual that weeps;
The whole world lies prostrate and endeavors to seek
An answer that makes sense of the senseless carnage,
An answer that restores our self image now tarnished.
To live another hour, another day, another week.

It is not just war that wages death and destruction;
Self interest and blind passion bring about the reduction
Of the human being, once reasonable, now bent on evil,
Twisted minds lust to commit deeds to create upheaval,
And lay waste humanity’s legacy of civilization primeval.