Stand for What is Right
When shadows lengthen o’er the plain,
And truth is bartered for a gain,
When whispers turn to deafening roars
And justice knocks on bolted doors—
There comes a moment, stark and still,
A testing of the human will,
To see who bows to passing might
And who will stand for what is right.
The path of least resistance lies
Beneath a mask of clever guise;
It’s easy to be swept away
By what the many think and say.
For when the tide of crowds begins
To wash away the stains of sins,
It takes a heart of granite stone
To face the gale and stand alone.
Conformity is like a shroud,
A comfort found within the cloud,
Where voices merge in one refrain
To dull the sense of others’ pain.
But silent tongues and averted eyes
Are where a piece of spirit dies;
To keep the peace by staying mute
Is but a hollow, bitter fruit.
It takes a courage, deep and vast,
To break away from shadows cast,
To look at wrong and name its name
Without a thought of praise or blame.
Though peers may mock and friends may flee,
And you are all that you can see,
There is a dignity in sight
For those who stand for what is right.
Integrity is not a dress
To wear for show or social press;
It is the marrow in the bone,
The secret truth when you’re alone.
It is the anchor in the storm,
Refusing simply to conform,
A compass calibrated true
To guide the weary soul of you.
For every time a soul is brave,
A path is cut, a life to save,
A ripple starts upon the pond
To reach the shores of the beyond.
When one refuses to be bent,
The walls of apathy are rent,
And those who watched in silent fear
Find suddenly that hope is near.
The cost is high, the road is steep,
With promises you’re bound to keep,
But as the years begin to fade,
You’ll weigh the choices you have made.
No wealth or crown can ever buy
The peace of looking in the eye
The person in the glass at night
Who dared to stand for what is right.
So let the world its pressure ply,
And let the tempests fill the sky;
Your conscience is a sacred flame
That no collective breath can tame.
Stand firm, stand tall, and do not bend,
Be truth’s own champion and its friend,
For in that stance, however lone,
A better world is finally sown.
