tadeusz rozewicz | what happens

Poetry Dispatch No. 38 | December 14, 2005

Thinking this morning how the State took another life yesterday…Justice…the bible …the eye and tooth thing ….redemption. Death’s row; Life’s persistence. Killing them softly with injection. Execution…exaltation… That certain numbness setting in again… Norbert Blei

What Happens by Tadeusz Rozewicz

It has happened
and it goes on happening
and will happen again
if nothing happens to stop it

The innocent know nothing
because they are too innocent
and the guilty know nothing
because they are too guilty

The poor do not notice
because they are too poor
and the rich do not notice
because they are too rich

The stupid shrug their shoulders
because they are too stupid
and the clever shrug their shoulders
because they are too clever

The young do not care
because they are too young
and the old do not care
because they are too old

That is why nothing happens
to stop it
and that is why it has happened
and goes on happening and will happen again.