There was the time 
we thought we knew better but didn’t
There was the time 
our indecision made everything fall apart
There was a time
and a time after that

Once we made the powerful and brutal
more powerful and brutal
Once we lost interest
halfway through
Don’t forget the time 
we did it on the cheap,
or the time we gave them
what we thought they needed
not what they asked for

Regrettably,
there was a time
we gave them refuge
but no home
and, how did we not 
see this coming,
the time business interests
co-opted better intentions

Apologies, apologies, 
more apologies
and still there was the time
we gave them something
they didn’t know how to use
and there was that time
the worst time
we gave them something 
so precious
they killed each other for it

Check out other work in the Uncollected series here.