Youth
7 October Poem
The monster bites,
across oceans, the cries are heard.
A mother sobs for her soldier,
as her town strokes her hair
and feeds her children.
A bride and groom
dance into battle
on the shoulders of their brethren,
leaving their wedding behind.
A child of four darkens a room,
hoping for the sound of a saviour,
as the Eiffel Tower lights up
surrounded by song.
They surrounded a baby,
hoping for blood,
but his saviour is a retired white beard.
An Israeli captive begs for his life,
So his sister in South Africa cannot sleep,
his brother in America prays,
his mother in Australia weeps.
Darkness descends,
but song rises.
Kindness lifts up
what cruelty knocks down.
Dispersion was aspired,
but unity was achieved.
So we cry,
Sob,
Wail,
For the ear you have bitten off,
But it is just an ear,
And it has only made us angrier.
You have stirred forces
thousands of years old
thousands of miles bigger than you.
And soon
the full force of the body will hit back
because when you hit the head
the heart cries.
And when the heart cries,
we all rear our heads
to defend
what was lost.