You came, You saw, You conquered

You came
You saw
You conquered
You wrote books
You received Peace Prizes
You are known to all

You came, you saw, you conquered
We came to bury our dead
We saw our homes destroyed
We tried but failed to conquer our fear, our grief
We write no books, just the names of the dead in our hearts
We received no prizes, we received no peace
Our names are known to none

You came, You saw, You conquered, You prosper
You burnt our homes and expect us to be grateful
When with self-righteous pride, You say You will rebuild
Rebuild what I ask?
Our lives? Our families? Our country? Our memories?

Who asked You into our land?
Who asked You to meddle in the affairs of others for the benefit of yourselves?
We did not ask You
We did not want You

You speak of freedom, of democracy and stability
How can we be free when we are shackled by the chains of misery?
How can we be free from the nightmares that never go away?
How can we be free from the horrors we have seen?
Is democracy the right to see our sons taken from us, never to be seen again?
Is stability built with the bombs of fanatics in places we once were safe?

You came
You saw
You wrote your place in history with the blood of my people
You did not conquer,
You created a new evil, one you could not control
Your own brothers and sisters suffer at your hands, for your pockets
As our brothers and sisters suffer

So write your books of lies
Collect your prizes and awards
We shall be blind to your words
Deaf to the applause of your brothers-in-arms
As we move from place to place
Refuge to refuge
Seeking an ever shifting home

Wherever you may be - be safe
Copyright Mike Hitchen Online, Lane Cove, NSW, Australia. All rights reserved