The Oilman's Burden

My husband wrote this in 1991, when the first gulf war occurred... it's as applicable NOW as it was then.

THE OILMAN'S BURDEN

Take up the oilman's burden,
Send forth the best we breed.
Commit our kids to slaughter,
In service of your greed.

The homes they shall not gladden,
The loves they shall not wed.
Tie on a yellow ribbon,
They'll be our "honored dead".

Take up the oilman's burden,
Ye dare not stoop to less,
Nor call on conservation,
To curb your avarice.

What lands will ye not plunder,
What waters ye not spoil?
What death of elk and otter,
What seabeds fouled for oil?

Take up the oilman's burden,
Think of the good it brings.
It gives us Ziploc baggies,
And lubes our piston rings.

And as the war clouds rumble,
And fury fills the sky,
How many oilman's children
Are marching out to die?

Take up the oilman's burden,
Are we the less to blame?
Have we not fed your habit,
And is this not our shame?

Tom Williams, 1991