Crying For The Mountain

History repeats itself again
and again we do nothing
but obey
we do nothing but mumble
“well, this is what the law has to say”
we do nothing but look
the other way
we do nothing but pay
for the handcuffs
for the squad cars
and the weapons they use
we do nothing but drown
in the same old apathy
in the same old booze
while generations of Hawaiians
are crying for the mountain
singing the blues
paying their dues
for living on this earth
while we sit at our laptops
checking our stocks
calculating it’s worth
as if it can be measured
in gold
here we are
believing what we’re told
buying all we’re sold
growing old in ignorance and fear
and we’re so disconnected
we couldn’t shed one single tear
for the earth or for them
if we wanted to
and we act like we don’t know them
but we funded the coup
and we ate the pineapples that they grew
and we bought the bombs
that long blew up over Kahoolawe
and here we are
still not listening to a word they say
here we are
still trying to tell them what to do
saying, “we know better than you,
so this is what we’re going to do
with your land”
and as the flames of ignorance
are fanned once again
will you believe the documents
an illegal government holds
written by white thieves with a pen
or will you believe the Hawaiians,
the kupuna
and the keiki
and the women
and the men
the ones who have poured sweat
and blood and tears into this land
ever since they navigated
using only the stars
to get here
but they saw far more clearly
than we could ever dream to see
with a profit-driven
18-story monstrosity of a telescope
that they hope to build
on sacred land,
that they hope will enable them to stand
taller than the Russians
and the Chinese
in the militarized race
to colonize space
and extract enough resources
to appease the golden bull
that resides far away
on another stolen island
desecrated in the name of progress
but it’s bound to happen, right?
Unless..,
unless we listen
to to the men and women
the elders and youth
who risk their lives
to speak the truth…

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