Moral Shadows
What’s the difference
Between killing and letting die?
Is it your silence,
Or your shadow trailing your feet?
Is it the moral license you invoke,
To walk past me on the street?
Your shadow casts its judgment,
You reach for it on the pavement,
I know you want to hear its praise.
But your fingers tremble
When they’re about to graze the ground.
If I feel beyond pure reason,
I know you’ll think me heedless
And female when I betray your moral law.
You may condemn me,
I know you like your conscience clean.
But if I’m bleeding,
and you refuse to meet my gaze,
then you can keep your duty.