I hear the pulpits ringing
About mankind's mortal sin;
From what I hear and see, I fear
A sickness lurks within.
The cancers eating at our souls
Are violence, sex and drugs;
While most of this we just dismiss,
With non-commital shrugs.
Our teens are pregnant, kids kill kids,
While wealth and waste abound;
Guns in schools, illiteracy rules,
Lord! A sickness walks around.
We have scandal in high places,
As we lose our moral codes;
We follow the flow, we won't say no
So, we walk the Roman roads.
This is a dear, great country,
With just and faulty laws;
Perhaps we could, God knows we should
Amend these serious flaws.
1998
Joseph Anderson
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-sickness-lurks-within/
