The Watcher

Some things should not be seen

only to look away

My eyes are on the screen

.

Children wail and neighbors scream

watching loved ones dragged away

Some things should not be seen

.

Walled-in nameless die unseen

while the careless plot and play

My eyes are on the screen

.

Hold your phone up to the scene

Capture, caption, and replay

Some things must be seen

.

Inattention is obscene

Bring the darkness into day

My eyes are on the screen

.

Please, watchers, intervene!

Someone somehow should pay

Some things can't be unseen

My eyes are on the screen

....

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

A/N: This folk song (on an album belonging to my hippie parents) haunted me as a child. "Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed ..." My mind churned with an anxious descant: "What could I do if I saw something bad happening to a stranger? What would I do?"

I'm still struggling with that question.

Phil Ochs - Outside of a Small Circle of Friends (1967)

And -- deep appreciation to all those who are casting light on injustice, through their cellphone screens, written words, and personal witness.