Lullaby For A Different World

Had the bough not broken,
had the girl with the split lip not spoken,

had the oppressor been willing to relent,
had the knee not bent,

had the penny not dropped,
had opportunity not knocked,

had the bar not been fixed by colour
had the ones who held the power, 
            let the unheard have their hour,

had the sign said welcome, 
had the prejudice through the system,
            not framed him for a hoodlum,

had the commitment not been token,
had the change not been set in motion,
        and oceans remained (un)frozen,

Would the ripple, so small, have been felt at all,
Or simply made a different cradle of civilisation fall?

ShivaRJoyce