United We Stand

The paparazzi scream out a somber story,

Filling our senses with images gory

Of a wounded child walking through a hundred shrouds,

Searching for his mother amidst those smoky clouds.

With a silent prayer, I try to sleep every night,

But the littlest of noises wake me up with a fright,

Each step that we tread on is now a landmine of fear,

And the demons from the other world look at us and jeer.

But they can't break our strength, we stand brave and tall,

And proudly we claim: united we stand, divided we fall.

A gallant cop kills and dies for a cause,

But we bicker listlessly about ethics and sketchy laws,

A life too precious is laid down in vain,

As his commitment to his brethren is flushed down the drain.

We limp back to life on a busy city street

Where a meaningless trifle turns up the heat.

Curses turn into blows, and blows into bloodshed,

Each man for himself, unity be dead.

Those demons laugh at us as we busy ourselves in the brawl,

And we still proudly claim: united we stand, divided we fall.