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"No matter where I am, your teachings fill me with songs." - Psalm 119:54 (CEV)

Friday, August 15, 2014

Human Nature


All that's been going on miles away,

All the way in Ferguson, Missouri,

Has hit me really close to home.

Close to those I love as though they were my own flesh and blood.

They might as well be.

Family is more than skin deep.

So, I responded like any songwriter.

I wrote a song.

Human Nature
by Mary Schieferstein
©2014 Mary Schieferstein

We say it couldn't happen here,
Claim we're smart enough to not get carried away,
Tout words like equality and justice,
But perspective makes our definitions change.

And I guess it's human nature,
We all want to be better than someone else,
So that those in power see what they want to,
Then the oppressed give back what they've been dealt.

And skin's the catalyst of deeper problems,
The image of unspoken castes we've put in place,
Feeding the fire eating our souls,
Forgetting that we're all in need of grace.

We say we took care of this years ago,
Announce that hatred's gone and we are free,
But outlawing the worst symptoms
Never cured the disease.

And I guess it's human nature,
We all want to be better than someone else,
So that those in power see what they want to,
Then the oppressed give back what they've been dealt.

And skin's the catalyst of deeper problems,
The image of unspoken castes we've put in place,
Feeding the fire eating our souls,
Forgetting that we're all in need of grace.

My sister draws these beautiful pictures
And her friends tease her about her braided hair,
My brother hugs with his whole heart
And repeats remarks that I would never dare.

And my sisters and my brothers
Are grieving loss of life and faith,
Whatever "he says, she says" happened
Can't be worth this kind of pain.

And I guess it's human nature,
We all want to be better than someone else,
So that those in power see what they want to,
Then the oppressed give back what they've been dealt.

And skin's the catalyst of deeper problems,
The image of unspoken castes we've put in place,
Feeding the fire eating our souls,
Forgetting that we're all in need of grace.



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