Love & Hate

Babies are dying mothers are crying
Bombs go off and politicians are lying
He is too white she is too black
That guy over there is too fat

Arabs hate Jews, Jews hate the Arabs too
killing each other hating until their faces are blue
They took my land one side screams so loud
they killed my babies the other one shouts to the crowd

some women are just too fat the others just too thin
no one seems to be just right, no one fits in
he is too poor she is too rich
that one is too innocent ...god the other is a bitch

children buying guns to get the other kids' tennis shoes
kill them then the other side retaliates ...everyone seems to lose
his clothes are too shabby hers are too sexy and tight
why must everyone find a reason to fight

Irish are too catholic, British are too protestant too
everyone has some bloody reason why they hate you
he is too dumb she is too much because she has a brain
he isn't competent because he has a leg that is lame

Germans are too bossy , The French are snobs
"god those Spaniards and Italians are too arrogant" a woman sobs
it is this ones fault that genocide was tried
"I wasn't even born then " is the reply

why must there be this blame, this hate
what has become of us ...why don't we do something
before it is too late
Why cant we all just love and understand the way things are
we are one race ... human ...
why is just a hug or a handshake going too far?

We are hurting the earth with our bombs, our weapons of flame
what is destroyed can't be built up again
why not just work together to make a better place for us to live
is a kind word to a stranger in need too much to give?

why must we find reasons why someone doesn't belong in our group
why not spend that energy giving the hungry some soup
let's just join hands and give reasons why we can be friends in peace
then maybe one day everyone happily shall sleep

Babsi Mouton
February 1998