Was it everyone who knew
That this sound of horror is not new
That this sound existed somewhere
–but muffled
That this sound came from there
From where it came…and sounded everywhere?
But who wasn’t baffled?
A loud hoot met with the bomb
But the bomb shouted back in anger
Ringing into a bang, now into a boom
Creating cracks, crackling in a crater
The ground shook the foundations of life
A bombardment as a shocking surprise
It took from them a real foundation
A traumatised foundation for life
Lives that love to live…for longer to linger
Were lives and limbs that were lost…to live arms and ammunition
Hostages that were traded for war prisoners
Were as weapons for mass negotiations
II
Fear; bottled from years of xenophobia
Exploded into a generation of trauma
Tears; like falling rain
Fell from cheeks of unspoken pain
Fear; made from the bottom of hearts
Encircled shaken limbs and lips
Tears; that settled behind blurred irises
Bade goodbye to stirred eyelids
Welcomed by broken hearts
Fear; numbed by unnumbered days in hell
Tore away from a hiding place
Tears; lured from a long lull in hell
Leaked…and were licked for solace
Fear; frozen, forgotten, forbidden
Trembled at the least tremor
Tears; embattled, embittered embarrassed
Embellished the pent-up bitterness with grief
When…oh when comes relief?
