Charlotte Caine, Claremont
Ah men
Meant to protect and defend
By shielding and safe-guarding
Those who depend on you
What induces you now to
Abuse women, children and infants
With vicious assaults and barbaric attacks?
What impels you to defeat
Those so much weaker than you
Who rely on you
And trust you to lead the way?
When did you lose your way?
What made you think it was okay
To make the harmless and innocent pay
For your dissolution?
When did you decide that alcohol or drugs
Would be a justifiable excuse
For the extent of your descent
Into degradation?
Ah, men ….
Born to be brave and bold and manly
Do not deny responsibility
Against those who should be condemned
Do not pretend not to see the culpability
Of those who level brutality
And inhumanity
Who assault and rape and kill
The vulnerable and the helpless
Ah men
Professed protectors and defenders
