Poem: Omelas

...And then they brought me then to see the child
crouched in the darkness, desperate and deliberate
and my heart hurt then, wanting to scoop it up in my arms,
hold it to me and love it because it was a broken thing
but for thoughts of myself and thoughts of my world
the this I have, this I want to continue to have,
this I want for my children and theirs and it was weeping,
it had no words and I made myself reason and weigh
and the cost of taking it with me was high and
I did not want to pay so I turned from it and it was weeping
still and I did not do anything and I was selfish
and I called myself brave for the sympathy I felt for it
and called my guilt a noble sacrifice and did nothing
and it was weeping but I left it there in the dank black darkness,
I called my cowardice fair and said I could not make the choice,
I could not decide what would become of everyone else
and I did not rescue it and I could not bear it and I walked away form Omelas...