The commensurate struggle under foreign rule 
And we learn about it in school
Like it is part of history
But there is so much that does not sit well with me 
Because I looked to the North of Ireland and could see
Blood on the streets as a child of 1990
And yet somehow there was an agreement that stemmed the tide
The flow of blood was silent outside
Though it still simmers underground
And I’m attuned to that sound 
As I hope it will rise only to be let go of
In place of a deeper kind of love
Now, bombs drop in the Middle East
And I wonder if our peace
Could be translated 
If the powerful could be educated 
In what it means 
To break nightmares into dreams 
For there are tens of thousands of children die 
Since the birth of the realm that made them cry
And I cannot stay silent and roll 
Like this is all there is in my soul 
Like I don’t have the blood of my ancestors proud
Who would say that the innocent and the loud
Should stand on equal footing 
And I know where they are putting 
The blame and why 
But no one deserves to die 
Before their time 
And is a war crime 
Only recognised in hindsight 
They starved us too 
From 1845 to ‘52
A million died
And mothers cried 
Others emigrated 
Now I’m listening to things the politicians stated 
As they barricade and siege 
With a terror you would not believe 
Leaving the people to disease 
And hunger and thirst 
I can only imagine the worse
As I hear the stories out of the Strip 
And soldiers as they equip
Themselves with weapons of war
Because they think they know what it’s for 
But when you look in their eyes do you see spirit 
And when a bomb drops and a child screams do you hear it
In the midnight of everyday 
Is it that you want a people to go away
And we were the Irish problem 
But somehow we were able to resolve them 
And for now, at least
A tenuous peace 
Holds in the dismantling 
Of the broken wing
At the heart of the tale 
Of how we are not up for sale 
And the people of the land 
Understand 
What it means to be driven home 
In a car all alone 
Thinking of a fellow kin 
And what they are doing to them
Under the guise of justification 
Saying we need an education 
In the politics of the Middle East 
Well I do and it’s the least
Thing I need to know it’s wrong 
When the materially strong
Use their force to betray
Everything in them that would say 
This is just not right 
What’s it like to be awake in Gaza tonight?