Surely, Surely, Never Here

He slew his uncle to claim his keep.
Such things cannot be born, said the man.
Such things happen in distant lands, we replied.
But surely, surely, never here.

He came at night and took another.
Such evil must be stopped, said the man.
Such things happen from time to time, we replied.
But surely, surely, never here.

By force of arms he took one more.
Surely now we must act, said the man.
Such things may happen elsewhere, we replied.
But surely, surely, never here.

An alarm rings! To arms! To arms!
The call is given, and we answer it.
But we are too few, and far, far too late.
We fall, and elsewhere men turn to one another and say,
Surely, surely, never here.