Claiming The Last Rites (Poetry)

I don’t tell others how to live their lives
they have their own beliefs and I have mine
I show respect while tolerance survives
though freedoms are eroded over time

Since narrow minds now veto and deny
the rights of others — take control away
think they know best so do their best to try
to stop campaigners having any say

They use the law’s machinery to slow
the pace of change that’s so long overdue
dismiss petitions even as they grow
yet cannot halt the tide still running true

Compassion rules and freedom’s at its heart
and all the while democracy draws breath
then every man has choice right from the start —
the way he lives and how he faces death