The Quiet Went Missing

They sold the old hall for a car park

Paint flaked from the saint on the wall

The box where we kept all the candles

Is filled up with lotto forms now

A man counts his winnings at daybreak

A woman folds flyers for war

We drink in a bar called “The Mercy”

That doesn’t mean mercy at all

Where did the quiet go?

The one that sat beside us

When we had little, but we had enough

Where did the neighbours go?

We used to know their stories

Now every eye is a locked front door

And I’m grieving for a country

That doesn’t know it’s dying anymore

The lad with the blood on his knuckles

Says “It’s only business, you know”

He learned that from those in good jackets

Who smile for the cameras at shows

They bulldozed the pitch by the river

For towers of glass and steel

We buried the goalposts at midnight

Like something we weren’t meant to feel

Where did the quiet go?

The one that sat beside us

When we had little, but we had enough

Where did the neighbours go?

We used to share the sorrow

Now every hand is a loaded stone

And I’m grieving for a country

That put a price on every bone

We used to leave soup on the doorstep

Now we leave numbers to ring

We used to say “Come in, you’re freezing”

Now we say “Who sent you? And why are you asking?”

I light a small flame in the kitchen

For people I’ll never now meet

And whisper a name for the country

It was

Before it crossed the street

Where did the quiet go?

The one that sat beside us

When we had little, but we had enough

Where did the neighbours go?

We used to know their stories

Now every eye is a locked front door

And I’m grieving for a country

That doesn’t know my name

Anymore