Ballad of a Cluster Bomb - David Rovics

I was born

Between factory walls

And I was conceived

Amongst the ivory halls

And in this world

I knew my role

I went to work

With a single goal

I traveled the earth

To far-off lands

From the Asian jungles

To the African sands

I flew in planes

Of camoflage green

Before I settled

Upon this scene

Like a shooting star

I came to rest

And this farmer’s field

Is where I nest

Just watching the seasons

Come and go

Watching the long grass

Grow and grow

Years go by

And I lay here still

For my purpose is clear

For me to fulfill

The sun was out

It was the middle of May

When the farmer’s three children

Came out to play

They ventured near

I lay in wait

One unknowing step

Sealed their fate

One thousand shards

Of plastic rose

From where I lay

And through their clothes

Into their bodies

The shrapnel sank

Here in this field

By a river bank

The blood poured down

Shone in the sun

And one cluster bomblet’s

Job was done