Zambia's Song

These children are beautiful, but they're dying by the dozen.

Pick up a box of eggs on your way out, but make sure to drop them on our doorstep.

How we make such a fuss of worthless objects that we worship like our God.

but young daughter, its not your fault that you were born without the means.

I mean life gave you lemons, but you lack the water needed to make that succulent lemonade.

We watch you walk miles but the television plays it as dull

so we change the channel hoping for something like an earthquake or another dead soldier

and let the importance and gravity of the situation roll off like water on a freshly waxed car.

But "carry on my wayward son/there'll be peace when you are done/lay your weary head to rest/don't you cry no more"

because by the time you get this message I'll be way too late

and the sack cloth and ashes will be prepared for morning.

Once the mourning starts your mothers eyes won't be dry for months on end

and the rest of the world sits like Jobs friends but for years instead of days

until your sister gets a microphone and stands on the stage and preaches a word that breaks our hearts

and the cycle starts over again!

Let the timer count down. We can take wages. Will the trend last days or years?

"Oh, I'll put a 50 down that it lasts at least 267 hours, 42 minutes, and 6 seconds!"

They tell me that the poor don't even try to stay afloat in this world

What they don't know is that something like a flood flashed before their eyes and they've got so much water in their lungs

They're just trying not to die, and they don't seem to care about anything other than how to get by

yet with all of their sickness and disease because of their situation they won't be hired

and because they aren't hired they get sick with disease

and because of their disease they bring about so much dis-ease

I just wish they didn't lie when they said loving people would be this easy

Our cameras are so focused on ourselves while we study the backs of our hands

the backs of our knee caps and the weenus is getting neglected.

I hope when you hear this you feel the guilt that balances out the shame and hurt that our people feel.

There are so many cracks in this globe we're just spitting to make some mud to make it flush and hold itself on its own