Ballad for a Faraway Disaster - SCP Foundation

The news has always traveled fast,

you’ve seen it times before.

The number of fatalities

will soon be many more

Texts, emails and message boards;

you watch them for the news.

The breach occurring miles away

still feels so close to you.

You grit your teeth and pace the room,

your jaw begins to hurt.

There’s nothing you can do and things

are only getting worse.

This shouldn't even bother you,

There’s no one there you know.

Your heart, it bleeds for strangers-

you can’t seem to help it, though.

A deep and hollow hopelessness,

the feelings start to mount:

Exhausted, helpless, frustrated,

a thousand miles out.

It’s hard to keep your chin up

in a world this dark and cold.

You can’t afford to care this much,

or so you're often told.

Detach yourself from everything,

stay numb and blind and sane.

You can't look after everyone,

you’ll drown in all the pain.

"But it must be good to hurt for them,"

you echo to yourself.

"If we become indifferent,

nobody left will help"

The bodycount is rising now.

The aching wrings your heart.

It's apathy that lets corruption

tear our world apart.

When past the sea of red alerts,

a message makes it through;

a single volunteer’s request

for “something I can do?”

Perhaps you’re ineffectual

and powerless and small,

but if someone cares like you do,

there's hope here after all.

We face our bleak reality,

too stubborn to resign.

We must let misfortune spur us

to be mindful, brave, and kind.

May tragedy inspire us

to make it through the night;

we can all endure the darkness

if we choose to be the light.