©Matthew Daniels 3 December 2011

Let me teach you
I need your permission
Give me boredom or apathy,
Sloth or atrophy,
And nothing I say will do.

Let me teach you
It isn’t as easy as fences
Give them love or hate,
Freedom or fate,
And nothing you think is true.

Let me guide you
Start with the part that is hard
Take up bars or wires,
Lightning or pyres,
But thinking of reach is the clue.

Let me guide you
From collision comes power
Touch to treasure or pain,
Forbid or gain,
But what stands between gets you through.

That’s how it happens
That’s where it starts
People with blood in their hearts
Then they find fire
Then they make tools
And learn to break things with parts

Let us name you
Not from size comes glory
Choose from footfalls or roads,
Mountains or lodes,
But remember it’s all in the blue.

Let us name you
Picking at leaves to find trees
Start with moving or not,
Setting or plot,
But we wished too much that we flew.

Let us move you
Shovels and labels and bombs
Pay with dollars or sense,
Timely or tense,
And gather that few things are new.

Let us move you
Flood is thicker than slaughter
Taking with hand or fist,
Titles or grist,
And making acid from dew.

That’s what happens
That’s when it starts
People with blood in their hearts
Then they draw lines
Then they make lies
And try to fix endings with starts

Let them help you
War unites more than purpose
Built from plastic or roses,
Rumours or Moses,
But history is carved in yew.

Let them help you
Anger is terror and gas
Learn from watching or bleeding,
Doing or needing,
But waste is only one brew.

Let them leave you
Can’t see the forest for the stars
Run from looking or glass,
Reeking or mass,
And the ship is as good as its crew.

Let them leave you
Only working for the rest
Try talking or trading,
Walling or raiding,
And think either in oil or in glue.

They’re why it happens
They’re who starts
People with blood in their hearts
Then they see storms
Then they make bail
And try to bake bread out of charts