If I could stop time’s relentless flow
Or reverse a waterfall,
If I could make light be slow
Or cause the wind to stall,

If I could cure all illnesses
and make the injured whole,
or remove hatred from men’s hearts
and let the soulless find a soul.

If I could make men see sense
And refuse to go to war,

If I could stop the pretense,
That money’s worth dying for,

If I could build a better world
Where everyone could thrive,
Or stop the flags being unfurled,
And let the innocent stay alive,

Instead of being bombed and burned
Before they’ve had a chance
With history’s lessons left unlearned,
As death’s macabre dance,

Once again takes to the floor
As so often throughout the ages,
The martial music plays once more
And we quick step into the pages,

Of new history as it is written
Never knowing who,or when,or why,
Which of us are to be smitten,
Who amongst us doomed to die.

If I had such powers underneath the sun
I would only ever use them to
Change our world so it is run
For the many, not just for so few.

(c) Copyright 2016 Tom Higgins