Inspired by Gerta Spieß’s haunting lines, “There’s nothing to be done,” this poem, The Weight of Indifference, examines the moral cost of inaction. It reveals how silence and apathy chain the oppressed and stain the conscience of the innocent. A call to confront the guilt born of indifference, it urges us to speak and act, even when trembling, for silence is the crime of care.

What marks the guilt of those who stand aside,
Where does it root, where does it grow?
It starts when hands are clenched, yet tied,
And eyes avert from truths they know.

It starts when lips, though free, stay sealed,
When hearts, though warm, refuse to burn.
When cries for justice go unconcealed,
And souls, once kind, no longer yearn.

For every step not taken, bold,
For every word left unexpressed,
The weight of silence, harsh and cold,
Becomes the chain that binds the oppressed.

So speak, though trembling, take your place,
For silence is the crime of care.
The guilt begins in vacant space,
Where none dare act, though all despair.