Michael Jackson — But the heart said no (poem)

But the heart said no (poem)

They saw the poor living in cardboard shacks,
so they knocked the shacks down and built projects.
Huge blocks of cement and glass towered over asphalt
parking lots. Somehow it wasn't much like home, even
home in a shack. "What do you expect?" they asked
impatiently. "You're too poor to live like us. Until you
can do better for yourselves, you should be grateful,
shouldn't you?" The head said yes, but the heart said no.
 
They needed more electricity in the city, so they found
a mountain stream to dam. As the waters rose, dead
rabbits and deer floated by; baby birds too young to
fly drowned in the nest while mother birds cried
helplessly. "It's not a pretty sight," they said,
"but now a million people can run their air
conditioners all summer. That's more important
than one mountain stream, isn't it?"
The head said yes, but the heart said no.
 
They saw oppression and terrorism in a far-off land,
so they made war against it. Bombs reduced the
country to rubble. Its population cowered in fear,
and every day more villagers were buried in rough
wooden coffins. "You have to be prepared to make
sacrifices," they said. "If some innocent bystanders
get hurt, isn't that just the price one must pay for
peace?" The head said yes, but the heart said no.
 
The years rolled by and they got old. Sitting in their
comfortable houses, they took stock. "We've had a
good life," they said, "and we did the right thing."
Their children looked down and asked why poverty,
pollution, and war were still unsolved. "You'll find
out soon enough," they replied. "Human beings are
weak and selfish. Despite our best efforts, these
problems will never really end." The head said yes,
but the children looked into their hearts
and whispered, "No!"