Why, Oh Why

In recent months I have been to four funerals,
All of them close friends I have known for many years,
People I respected, and in some cases loved;
People who had all led rich and fulfilling lives,
All loved by family, successful in business,
And who had all served their local communities,
Enriching others through voluntary service,
Often going the extra mile for no reward
Other than the satisfaction of grateful smiles.
Every day we learn in the news of other deaths,
Of lives tragically lost through no fault of their own
Other than that they chanced to be in the wrong place,
And at the wrong time, merely victims of events
They could not have foreseen and beyond their control.
In my own country society has been shocked
By terrorist massacres that have claimed the lives
Of more than a score of innocent bystanders,
And just last week a horrifying inferno
In a residential tower block in London,
Where the death toll of some of the poorest people
In that city of great wealth is nearly eighty,
And where many more are still unaccounted for.

In such awful circumstances we feel helpless,
And in our confusion look for someone to blame,
But too often we fail to reflect thoughtfully
On the flawed nature of modern society,
For which we all share some responsibility —
Growing inequality between rich and poor
And an unfair distribution of resources;
The venality and greed of wealthy bankers;
Austerity that means that people die too soon
While the rich find ways to avoid paying taxes;
Lack of investment in local communities
And neglect of reasonable safety standards;
The brutal indifference of officialdom
To the lives of the poorest in society;
The ignorance that leads to xenophobia
And the irrational fear of those not like us;
A media that inflames division and fear,
Which is controlled by a few unelected moguls
With no respect for opposing views about life.
The list of all that is corrupt and distorted
In our dysfunctional so called democracy
Grows by the day, with seemingly no end in sight.

Society’s ills are not inevitable,
And so much that is evil could be prevented,
But it is no longer enough just to ask why
When we read about the latest atrocity,
And then retreat back to our comfortable lives,
After sending a suitable donation of course.
Each one of us must be prepared to play our part,
Because we are all accountable in the end.
But it would be wrong of me to preach to others,
Without reflecting about my own attitudes
And taking my share of responsibility
For the society of which I am a part.
As I approach the age of three score years and ten,
Thoughts of my own death increasingly cross my mind,
Although I desire to live for many more years.
When the time finally comes to draw my last breath
And I have to say goodbye to all those I love;
As I face alone the ebbing of consciousness,
I hope that the judgement of the way I have lived
Will not be too severe, and that I will depart
Knowing that I have done my best to help others
And cared for those less fortunate than I have been.