Human Rights’ Poem by David Chalk

In a civilised land
That accepts duty to all
Citizens have rights
Some great, some small

This is how things should be
To those who value
Truth and fairness
And justice and decency

But those who treasure money
And the power of wealth
Seek to remove such rights
Through deceit and stealth

They claim that duty
Comes before such rights
But they accept no obligation
For causing another’s plight

Obligation before rights
Is their loud refrain
But fulfilling their own duties
Is something they distain

For rights are for the powerful
Whilst duty is for the poor
And decency and justice
The Country provides no more

Human Rights matter
To ensure justice for all
For saints and for sinners
For all people great and small

The alternative is ugly
With justice a forgotten myth
With power replacing fairness
And a society that is truly sick