Yeh, I sent watchmen to guard the walls,
To watch for wolves amidst the sheep,
To watch for the enemy riding on the dawn,
Yet when watchmen fall weary the holes appear,
Holes in our hearts, holes in our souls,
Holes in the fabric that holds the centre in place,
Holes in your families, your leaders, your protectors all,
When the watchmen fall weary the stains appear,
Stains on your floors, stains on your uniforms,
Stains on the reputations of those I sent to keep you,
Stains in your dreams, your words, your conscience all,
And the wolves are amongst you, ravaging and wild,
Where were my watchmen?
Where was the anger that seals my sacred chamber?
Where were the locks, the barricades on my holy house?
For all are guilty for the good they did not do,
Where were my watchmen?
Where were my watchmen?
When the wolves kept on coming, kept on coming,
And where is the one who has the faith?
The faith to see the totality of darkness on the land,
Yet still believe in the light that the darkness hides,
Where is the one who has the courage?
The courage to see the totality of darkness on the land,
Yet rise up with with the anger of a thousand guilty memories,
Declaring the axiom of the new age,
'yeh tho thy passed this way, thy pass this way no more'
'yeh tho thy picked my pockets, thy pick them no more'
'yeh tho thy corrupted me with thy serpent eyes, thy are now blind'
'yeh tho I slept on His duty, I now stir with His strength'
'yeh, tho I was lost, now am I found in His love'
'yeh tho the darkness reigned, it did not capture my heart',
And in the distance I spy the wolves gathering once more,
Approaching the walls of Jerusalem in droves,
Not knowing that today we fulfil the dreams of Isaiah,
Today we strike down the wolves at our doors,
With authority and with justice and with the might of the meek.
Today we lift the veil, today we claim the truth.
( This poem was inspired by a coaching session I was holding some months ago where the coachee suddenly exclaimed 'This reminds me of that passage from Isaiah!'. To which I replied with some astonishment 'Which passage?' 'You know, Isaiah 62:6' 'Oh yeh, that one' - 'I have posted watchmen on your walls O Jerusalem, they will never be silent day or night'. After the session I read the passage (which I had never read before). It then then took me to Isaiah 56:10 -'Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark, they lie around and dream they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough'. Next I was writing and I was reminded of this poem last night whilst presenting on the theme of accountability. I was talking of the rising tide of accountability in the world right now - MP's expenses, Sirless Fred Godwin, Stephen Hester's unbonus, the Arab spring,.... It as if we have collectively let things happen on our watch, stuff that has crept up on us in our societies and suddenly we are waking up from a collective trance, looking around and saying 'What the hell happened round here?' Holes have appeared. Stains have appeared. Locks have been picked. Yet suddenly we see it so clearly and we know it is not acceptable any more. There is anger in people's hearts, a witch-hunt afoot, a wolf-hunt. Yet be careful for the trail may lead to your own door. For as we call out the wolves amongst us let us not forget that we were the watchmen who slept, who did not bark, who couldn't get enough when we could get it and who failed to protect that which needed our protection.)
