Look Me in the Eyes

Look Me in the Eyes



You say we deserved this,
we had it coming to us

You say it’s a wake up call;
America created terrorists
by causing disparity

You say you understand
why they did this?

So please,
look me in the eyes
and tell me

Go ahead, I’m waiting

I heard you on WBAI
saying “I told you so”,
I saw you on Talk Back Live,
crying, “we should’ve known”

What should have we known?

Look into the eyes
of hard working Latinos in Hackensack,
tell them how bad America is,
I’ll be there waiting as
“No comprendemos!” echoes
along Main Street

Go tell Mrs. Nehme
that her family made a mistake
by leaving Beirut in 1972
and I’ll be there to catch you
as her response blows you away

Look into the eyes of
tireless volunteers at Nino’s,
dishing out free meals to rescue workers,
and tell them it’s all a waste of time

Go ahead, tell them

Go to Manhattan Ferry
and tell shellshocked commuters,
whose disguised grief
greets the sun each weekday morning,
that their coworkers died in vain

Go Ahead, I’m Waiting

Look into the eyes
of proud, black mothers,
screaming from the doorsteps
of funeral parlors, and tell them
that their sons and daughters
are only collateral damage

I’ll be there to watch you run

Go tell the orphaned children
of Staten Island and north Jersey,
whose hearts will never heal,
what you know about suffering

Go Ahead, tell them!

Look into the eyes
of three-hundred and forty-three wives,
lying sleepless in the night,
and tell them what you know
about wake up calls

You say you understand
why they did this?

So please,
look me in the eyes
and tell me

Go Ahead, I’m Waiting