They are the victims

of the fire that burns

with ambition across

the crumbled landscape

that used to be home

but now is the

pit of abaddon,

the place of perdition.

 

They are the children

whose broken bodies

and scarred minds

reflect the sacrifice

of safety in the very places

where children should

be most safe and free.

 

They are the women

who face the vile and bitter

cold slap of dreaded loss

that hits their bodies

and strikes their souls,

as they patch together

whatever is left of family.

 

And the fire of war’s cruel hand

burns on with no regard

for history or persons,

community or compassion,

in this unforgiving annihilation

of all that used to be good

and all that used to be right.

 

18/12/2016