Never knew why he struck that other man so hard with that jagged
piece of metal
Something always came over them and they had this overwhelming urge
to just lash out
No reason was found when they shot all those men then gang raped
their women
It was a long-simmering feud between two genetically identical groups
in different clothes
Never knew why we kicked in their faces and then laughed as they lay
bleeding
Many years later it seemed like just one more lowly task in another
bad job
Did not understand why soldiers abused us and left us in poverty,
with bastard children
They could not see our simple need for mercy and sweet grace in time
to help
Always wondered about tossing plague dead inside those besieged
castles
Was it the same reason we gave the Indians those smallpox-ridden
blankets?
Had not a clue why they skewered us on sticks covered with their own
shit
Would not ask why we showered them with napalm and agent orange
Never knew why that laughing Asian boy lost half a leg to an old land
mine
Failed to comprehend that she stuffed her newborn into an empty milk
carton
Tried to make sense of drugged children on rampages with machine guns
Could not give any reasons for their after school torture of that
stray cat
Did not find a single flaw in the convoluted logic of the mass
murderer
Lacked any sense that evil needed to fear any retribution now or in
any future
Did not have any excuses for molesting those they entrusted me to
teach
Found it useless to question my need to drink myself into dementia
Asked all the wise men why they did not act to put an end to war at
last
Never knew why hatred came much faster and easier than simple
kindness
Surprised by my discovery of the hidden list of those I would gladly
kill
Could not side with the Hutus or the Tutsis, the Sunnis or the
Shiites
Did not reflect upon the soulless corporate slaughter of the
chickens, pigs and cows
Did not even question our need for more biological, nuclear and
chemical weapons
Never knew why he wound up punching his wife until she cried and
begged
Refused to see the violent cycle they always began following once
again
Had no issue with light punishment for those boys who set a lost dog
on fire
After all, it was just in fun and they likely would not harm a human
being...
Barely skimmed short filler paragraph on the weekly killing of one
more homeless vet
Ignored the righteous fury that goaded others to bomb abortion
clinics
Never knew why he was instantly filled with terrible rage, sitting
alone in his car
Did not ask how generations of the sons of single mothers filled up
our prisons
Shook my head and strapped on a bomb to die killing civilian infidels
for His glory
Could not imagine any deity that would leave those children bleeding
on the street
Gave up wondering how the church spent the money given by the poor
How quickly he forgot the 20 illegales who suffocated inside his van
in the desert
Was faintly surprised by the rape of starving refugees in filthy
desert camps
Saw as their bloated babies witnessed with flies in their eyes
Did not question that a god of love and mercy demanded so many deaths
Never even considered that being rich did not require being wasteful
Never cared that automatic rifles were easier to obtain than
vaccinations
Did not ask about why our peace loving democracy exported so many
weapons
Was not too curious why the old and helpless were beaten, conned and
robbed
Raised no issues over aiding brutally repressive dictatorships - for
many decades
Never asked why education was required for driving but not for having
children
Was confused for just a moment hearing that foreigners sold their own
internal organs
Did not need to ask any questions as faraway oceans were stripped of
life
Did not understand how AIDS orphans could turn to child prostitution
Never knew why fanatics around the world would hate us with such
virulence
Heard with their hearts as their Creator denied those Godless
evolutionists
Was slightly bemused about the fuzzy thinkers pushing their climate
hoax
Had not the time to consider the depth of poverty all across the
world
Observed in disbelief the power of one musty book as the universe
expanded at light speed
Was not concerned that oil, water, air and land vanished
quickly...worldwide
Watched unwanted girls arrive from china as our fatherless black boys
grew up in jail
Rode in windows-up, air-conditioned comfort past dirty slums filled
with lazy, shiftless sinners
Never even pondered how global corporate consolidation might actually
advance human society
Did not realize how many drank and bathed just below where others
shit
Never cared a bit when they stopped seeking the wisdom and advice of
their elders
Were not interested in asking their merciful God why war was simply
part of their nature
Had no time to actually consider their goals but always looked to
achieve them even faster
Did not find any real answers among the heavy reams of fine print
legalese
Just didn’t quite see how our traffic jams ruined the lifestyle of
the polar bear
Did not really notice as earth’s richness was ever so thoughtlessly
stripped away
Never considered seriously that man was a product of nature just like
all the other animals
Could not grasp why billions hauled wood and water every day for
cooking and drinking
Never knew why such as PCBs and asbestos, lead and mercury caused
such a fuss
Was not convinced by junk science astrophysics but totally bought
into religious fundamentalism
Was not too concerned with the distant genocide of those who lived in
landfills
Did not question that the righteous joined their savior forever in a
heavenly paradise
Could not see the reason that armed men led her quiet husband off
that day
Quit bothering to ask the padre why the lord would permit this awful
thing or that
Kept finding so little reason in those many life and death situations
Searched for any meaning left in the rubble from the bomb that killed
that little girl
Finally gave up asking why they had to shoot at different soldiers
every day
Never knew why her little puppy had to run out in front of that
speeding car
Kept trying to get us to believe that their getting richer trickled
down to help the poor
Never did help those smiling kids with their dirty clothes, greasy
hair and muddy feet
Praised the Lord and let His will be done, without posing
those sticky questions
Never asked why churches ran like franchises yet paid no taxes
whatsoever
Never determined why country folk made alcohol, meth and opioids part
of the heartland
Did not get used to those short dark strangers speaking Spanish in
damn America
Never knew why one died in Iraq and another was shot dead on his
porch
Took comfort in faith and gained a distracting relief from vexing
mysteries
In the end did not understand why others lived on but one dollar
every day
Should not have questioned why she had never heard any of those happy
songbirds
