rational geekery

A regular reader made a comment on the Neocon’s Break Ranks post, referring to a poem by Lascelles Abercrombie, sung by John Denver, called The Box. This recommendation was accompanied by an emailed link to the lyrics, which I have reproduced below: -

LASCELLES

THE BOX

Once upon a time in the land of hush-a-bye,

around about the wondrous days of yore,

I came across a sort of box

bound up with chains and locked with locks

and labelled, “Kindly do not touch, it’s war.”

Decree was issued round about

all with a flourish and a shout

and a gaily coloured mascot tripping lightly on before:

“Don’t fiddle with this deadly box

or break the chains or pick the locks.

And please, don’t ever play about with war”

Well, the children understood,

Children happen to be good,

they were just as good around the time of yore

They didn’t try to pick the locks,

or break into that deadly box

They never tried to play about with war

Mummies didn’t either

Sisters, aunts, grannies neither

‘Cause they were quiet and sweet and pretty

in those wondrous days of yore

Well, very much the same as now,

not the ones to blame somehow

For opening up that deadly box of war

But someone did

Someone battered in the lid

And spilled the insides out across the floor

A sort of bouncy, bumpy ball

made up of guns and flags and all

the tears and horror and the death that goes with war

It bounced right out

And went bashing all about

And bumping into everything and stored

And what was sad and most unfair

is that it didn’t seem to care

how much it bumped

Or why, or what, or for

It bumped the children mainly

And I’ll tell you this quite plainly

It bumps them every day, and more and more, and leaves them

dead and burned and dying

Thousands of them sick and crying

‘Cause when it bumps, it’s really very sore

Now there’s a way to stop the ball

It isn’t difficult at all

All it takes is wisdom, I’m absolutely sure that we could get it

back into the box

And buy the chains and lock the locks

[but] No one seems to want to save the children any more

Well, that’s the way it all appears

‘Cause it’s been bouncing round for years and years

In spite of all the wisdom wiz since those wondrous days of yore

And the time they came across the box

Bound up with chains and locked with locks

And labelled, “Kindly do not touch, it’s war”

Words by Lascelles - Sung By John Denver

The poem, and the subsequent song, certainly have a timeless and poignant message.