I was there when it all began
When roots took hold in fertile soil
A rumbling tension slowly built
And I never said a thing
I was there when the truncheons swung
The choking burn of pepper spray
The television said I'm safe
So I never did a thing
I was there when the bullets flew
Golden wasps that seared the air
Bodies fell in graceless arcs
And I turned my gaze away
I was there when cells slammed shut
Gathered up and caged like beasts
But freedom isn't lucrative
And there's money to be made
I was there when the fuse was lit
A thunderclap of Heaven's wrath
A million voices crying out
But I never heard a thing
I was there for the awful end
The bodies strewn in ashen piles
They told us this would keep us safe
And we never learned a thing