A TestamentWhen we pledge a testament To our country of o...

A Testament

When we pledge a testament
To our country of origin,
A relationship, or an alliance,
We seek to identify with it, to belong
Desiring a deep connection,
Imbedded far in our roots

With the current of time it becomes a part
Of our beings, our collective humanity
A mirror through which other people view us
A reflection on the quirks of myriad cultures
Merging into our beings
An insignia we wear on our hearts

The testament moves both ways;
The state body owes its patronage
To its people; to protect and nurture them
To improve the lives of its people;
To cultivate and reform them

When the state body fails to nourish its people;
Splits them into gender, race and religion
Draws daggers into their hearts
Desecrating their souls
Sowing seeds of oppression
Ravaging a land to infertility
Fostering a sacrilege worst in the annals of humanity

Then it ceases to be defined as a state, merely a den
For scavengers and thieves
The trust is broken, the testament violated,
The people of the state have nowhere to belong,
No possessions, no identity to cling to,
Their lives on a weak threshold shudder
Here the final covenant is torn apart
A travesty against everything life stands.