Based on the text of ‘First They Came’ by German Lutheran pastor and former Nazi sympathizer, Martin Niemoller, 1946
First they came
for those who bore children
and I did not speak out because I was not
of child bearing age.
Then they came for gay marriage
and I did not speak out because
I was not in a gay marriage.
Then they came for the religious minorities,
the Black and brown people, the refugees,
the homeless, the disabled,
the mentally ill
and I did not speak out
because I was too afraid they’d find out
who I really was.
Then they came for the observers and the helpers
and they lied to cover it all up,
and I did not speak out because
my voice was trembling too much.
Then they changed all the laws
and re-wrote the constitution
and I did not speak out because
it was not considered civil,
because I was too afraid,
because I didn’t want to lose my job,
because I thought: what can one person do?
Then they stifled freedom of the press
and took away voting rights
and I did not speak out because I didn’t believe I had
any real power
Then they came for me
and there was no one leftÂ
to speak out for me.
