The tears of the world
 

I felt the tears of the world on my shoulders

And the voice of a girl in my ears, a sweet

Voice that rang across time from a place I

Could not reach.
 

The sound of aerial bombardment, the

The blast of nearby explosions, the pitiful

Cries of those trapped in the debris of war.

No light, no heat, no water, again, I heard

The voice of a girl pleading for help, a girl

Soon to be a mother, soon to be delivered

Of a child, a young woman lost in the acrid

Smoke of a weak man’s doing, amongst

Which, a crude Z on a distorted section of

Death and destruction.
 

Her breath warm on my cheek, so close I

Might feel her heart, the note in her voice so

Familiar it caused my lonely soul to weep.

A fanciful apparition carried on the echoes

That filled the room. The TV had fallen silent

Now, yet I could still hear her voice pleading

For heat, food and above all, urgent medical

Assistance.
 

I felt the tears of the world on my shoulders

And the voice of a girl in my ears, a sweet

Voice that rang across time until finally, her

Voice fell silent and was gone forever, the

Sudden click, evidence of another missile

Finding its target.
 

© Joseph G Dawson