Blue, Green, Red and Purple: Demonstrators
Betty Collins's poem expreses a sobering truth - demonstrators don't right the wrongs of the world.
I see them now, all those earnest young faces
In the wind, in the rain, in the scalding sun
Standing in rows as though their lives depended on it
As though the life of the world depended on it
As though their standing there would change the course of history,
Block out all evil from the world,
As though the pain in their backs, their feet, their hearts
Would somehow pay the ransom for the suffering.
Lord, in every generation there they are!
You would have thought they’d learn by now
That this will not feed the hungry,
Topple governments, nor even
Bring a scornful smile
To the face of the wicked – though it may make good pictures
And help the cameramen to make a living.
