Shout it out or whisper it secretly in my ear

Tell me all the things I will never want to hear:

Tell me how Sharia law liberates the maid:

Tell me how nationalism is patriotism writ large;

Tell me how exactly and who it is that Jesus saves.

Now I’ll tell you our lives are way too crammed with things

How we need to let go if we want to hear the song thrush sing.

If we allow irresponsible technology to dominate our lives

We’ll see the nihilistic culture of street-knives thrive.

The scramble for money'll mean only the rich'll  survive.

No! No! No! the Persian poet Rumi wrote Oh! so many years ago:

If you want money more than anything, your soul is already sold.

The clever and the strident Oh! How much they’d change the world;

While the wise ones change themselves, as the future is unfurled.