Some stood up once and sat down

From a talk by Howard Zinn:

 

I want to end by reading a poem by Daniel Berrigan, the longtime peace activist. He has long struggled against war and militarism. He wrote this poem in the memory of his friend Mitch Snyder, who had worked for many years for the homeless in Washington, DC. He became disconsolate at what the government was unable to do even while it was building jet planes and bombers and nuclear submarines and  nuclear missiles but it didn't have enough money to take care of the homeless.  He became so disconsolate that he killed himself. Berrigan wrote this poem.

In Loving Memory - Mitchell Snyder

Some stood up once and sat down,
Some walked a mile and walked away.
Some stood up twice then sat down,
I've had it, they said.
Some walked two miles, then walked away,
It's too much, they cried.
Some stood and stood and stood,
They were taken for fools,
They were taken for being taken in.
Some walked and walked and walked.
They walked the earth,
They walked the waters,
They walked the air.
Why do you stand?, they were asked.
And why do you walk?
Because of the children, they said,
Because of the heart and because of the bread.
Because the cause is the heart's beat.
And the children born and the risen bread

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