Allies

How to define an ally?
Someone refusing to stand by?
Comrades don’t rest & strangers protest.
Do they hold & lend voice to your outcry?

What are the objections they make?
What’ll they say out loud for your sake?
Rights are in peril by religion gone feral.
Will they save you from fervor’s wake?

Will friendship alone suffice?
Are they timid with words of advice?
Going out on a limb if the prey isn’t them. 
Will they willingly self-sacrifice?

Do they desert you in dreadful fate?
Do they forsake you to violence & hate?
When loyalties duel are they petty & cruel?
Will they grieve you too little too late?

An ally will be at your side.
They share both your shame & your pride.
The bond will stand; we fight hand in hand.
In concert we’ll silence the tide.