Smoke (Acteal)

LILA DOWNS

How dark is the smoke that falls from the skyand soaked in our blood are the feathers of timeMore women and children were killed on that nightmore than they could count when they threw 'em in truckssome children were kneeling the saints were all calmmachetes and gunshots reveal all the bloodThe papers recounted the story we knowyet silence is deep as the hundreds of soulsand the hundreds of hopes of our peopleNow every one's waiting and hoping for justicebut will there be goodness where men kill their own?our wise people say that the mouth of the earthhas swallowed her fruit, but the eagle and snakewill stand for the truth, when the mother ofcorn has spokenoh axe of our fire bring justice to life for we knowthat powerwas once sacrifice and it was sacrifice and itwas sacrificeof our people