Sign of Love

 

Close your eyes for a minute and picture this

You’re about eight or nine

Pure heart, fresh mind

You’re in the heart of the Congo

You’ve lived here all your life

Take a breath and let the smell of the soil fill your head

Listen to the birds and the buzzing of the insects

And then get back to work

You’re a slave

You feel your heart start beating in your ears

You see the men with the guns.

The ones who demand a diamond each day,

or they take out your tongue as the price you must pay

You’ve been here a year, away from your family

They’re probably all dead and you've accepted it by now

But you want to live

You remember that you better find a diamond today

You look down and smile

What do you see?

Shining in the earth, a small speck of light

You’ve found a diamond as the sun disappears

You’re safe until tomorrow

You lie to rest in the heat of the night

Swatting mosquitos and picking your sores

Gazing at the stars and the heavens above

You wonder about the monsters at the ends of the Earth

The ones wearing these diamonds

As a sign of love

 

If I could change one thing in the world,

it would be a culture that glorifies the atrocity of the diamond trade.