This is easy: I am the wind I am the rock I am the water I am the forest This is hard: I am the concrete I am the car I am the sewer I am the city When the killers shoot I am responsible Name your murderer and you name me I grieve for the victims I grieve for the dead I grieve for the living they left And: I grieve for the pilots I grieve for the soldiers I grieve for the clerks I grieve for the cooks I grieve for the workers who build all the weapons and I grieve for their bosses who give them the orders How can I not? This too is me I don't believe there's a prison in the sky where the sinners will burn and not me There are torturers in this world genocidal maniacs mass murderers firing squads There are those who deal death at a distance button-pushers order-givers There are those who kill up close enforcers grunts There are people who kill in anger and people whose blood stays cold This is the world I live in my world all of it Every war is a civil war every murder a suicide I am the killer I am the killed The sun is shining and a little white cloud serves only to contrast the blue Good flying weather How can I say this day is beautiful? But it is I hate presidents more than generals missiles more than bombs rifles more than handguns knives more than fists I hate anything that muffles the awesome responsibility which tells you the person you're killing is human This is easy: I am the artist I am the grower I am the mystic I am the lover This is hard: I am the jailer I am the thief I am the sadist I am the killer When will I be free?