(with grateful acknowledgment to Pastor Martin Niemöller for his poem,
“First They Came” – saying it better than I ever could.)
*****
First they came for our neighbors to the south and north, and imposed severe tariffs…
and though it seemed foolish I did not speak out,
because I know so little about economics.
Then they came for USAID (and called it “criminal”)…
and I was uneasy but I did not speak out,
because I do not receive funds from them.
So they came for healthcare and research institutes like APHL and JHPIEGO (and more…)
and I wondered if I should speak out,
because I have now-unemployed friends there who help the most marginalized.
And today they came for faith-based charities like Lutheran Services in America…
and though I am not a Lutheran I must speak out,
because I know heroes there who serve the poorest of the poor for their entire careers.
And tomorrow they’ll come for NGO’s that I helped start…
and I have retired but this is personal,
because we need the change our colleagues bring to the world.
And the day after tomorrow...
perhaps they'll come for the very thing you and yours cherish
so speak...together...before there's no one left to speak for you.
*****
The Gathering 