Silently they stand, in drab array,
Men and women, young and old are there,
Queueing now for meat, as yesterday
They queued for daily bread. And everywhere
Their poverty stands out, clear as the light
From over yonder wall, where they would be.
Where friends and relatives recall their flight.
They look into the dark, but cannot see
How to put down those tyrants, how to fight.
Beyond the wall on cold November night,
Shivering over small and fading fire,
Sit our brothers in their hopeless plight.
We eat and drink and dance the night away.
We laugh and love and sleep without a care.
Our dogs are eating meat, our children play.
Stand now in silence and regard the wall.
Look at the crumpled body of a boy.
Look at the man who shot him, saw him fall.
He is a brother too, let’s not forget.
Stand there in silence and in awe,
And pray now for our brothers in the net.

© Michael J. Mason 1975