Today I woke up in Syria

Today I woke up in Syria

to sniffles from a little girl

crouched in the corner

A human ball

in a ragged frock.

Her tiny hands

clutching a headless doll

which she handed me

with a desperate plea;

some food for a broken doll

 

Today I woke up in Syria

to a screaming woman

pleading life

for her husband

buried alive

as her son looked on

his face so blank

eyes now glazed

with unspoken terror

holding him in place

 

Today I woke up in Syria

to a sobbing woman

subsisting in an empty space,

in tattered robes, with

broken bones and

bruises blue

Honour lost and

dignity bled

by a uniform

meant to protect

 

Today I woke up in Syria

with blood on my hands

And no tears to shed

as I looked away

sending silent prayers on their way

dreaming of a better day.

 

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