21700
A young lad kicks a pebble
down a dirt road
and is shot dead
he’s on the wrong road
at the wrong time of day
and the world says
N a y . . !
he shoudda never been there
kicking that pebble
that day
he’s on the wrong road
on the wrong side of town
on the other side of the wall
A young girl speaks to a friend
on the other side of the wall
and is shot dead
not because of anything she said
but she spoke a dialect
considered dread and despised
It’s the wrong day
in the wrong part of town
On the other side of the wall
children play and are shot dead
in the school yard
of a Madrasah
On the other side of the wall
the faithful prayed
and worshipped
and died
in the sight
of God today
not because they prayed
to any special god
b u t
they prayed in a Mosque
On the wrong day
on the wrong side of town
on the other side of the wall
t o d a y . .
mouths will have . .
no milk
no water
no bread
no lamb
no nourishment of any kind
b e c a u s e
today and everyday
they are the children of
I s m a i l . . !
A young woman became a mother
briefly for a moment in time
today
she gave birth
at the 13th hour of labour
at a checkpoint
t h e c h i l d d i e d . . !
and the aged grandmother
who accompanied her
died of thirst
on the desert floor
begging her God
for water
A child went to school today
only to return home for supper
b u t
his home no longer stands
and all that were left
of his clan
were scorched bones
etched in the sand
and the ash of their eyes . .
he now fights
with slings and stones
to avenge
the scattered dead bones
where nothing remains . .
and it doesn’t matter
that his bones
too are broken
and can not
be walked on . .
He’s looked upon
with venom and with dread
as snipers afar
target him dead . .
and all that’s left of him
is an ominous red dot
where X marked the spot
of his execution
they know . .
what they have done
they know . .
what they have created
they call him
T E R R O R I S T
© mingoáo
