“When will they ever learn?” - Bob Dylan

Secure in the golden cradle
    Of our past, we are schooled to know
        Just who we are and ought to be.

Then gales of change toss us seaward –
       Reeling in the crests and troughs of doubt -
             Adrift, abandoned and lost -
       Hung between heritage and revolution.

Tempers boil, ignite and explode
      Sabres are rattled then swung
            In ****** of fratricidal madness.

When will we ever learn?

Our fertile sun-washed globe spins on -
       Impervious to such juvenile conceits
           But perhaps sorrowed by our petty spats.

In time we wash ashore with fresh resolve
      To build new bridges - vessels - public works
            Born of vibrant craft and
      Designed for tomorrow’s tests and triumphs.

New cities rise - dedicated with noble speeches
     That once more tell us
          Who we are and ought to be
      Until history’s sermons again are forgotten.

Will we ever learn?
     When is never soon enough!