War Child. . Artist: Michael D. Edens
Imagine
Imagine nothing to read or write
no way to watch your saffron thoughts
unfurl in gray graphite on pristine sheets of white
Imagine loneliness without solitude
no way to swim between friends and lovers
and the treasured company of your own secret muse
Imagine only filthy, brackish water
or no water at all to cleanse your body, inside or out
no clean springs in which to play by graceful glades
Imagine children conceived in rage and revenge
mothers without means to provide, to protect,
endless explosions stilling life on killing grounds
Imagine knowing only
war
poverty
ignorance
powerlessness
hunger
Imagine dying before you are old enough to know who you are
~ ~ Jamie Dedes
First published in Poets Against the War (February 2010).
Imagine nothing to read or write
no way to watch your saffron thoughts
unfurl in gray graphite on pristine sheets of white
Imagine loneliness without solitude
no way to swim between friends and lovers
and the treasured company of your own secret muse
Imagine only filthy, brackish water
or no water at all to cleanse your body, inside or out
no clean springs in which to play by graceful glades
Imagine children conceived in rage and revenge
mothers without means to provide, to protect,
endless explosions stilling life on killing grounds
Imagine knowing only
war
poverty
ignorance
powerlessness
hunger
Imagine dying before you are old enough to know who you are
~ ~ Jamie Dedes
First published in Poets Against the War (February 2010).
_________________
Words and an image -- from poet Jamie Dedes and artist Michael D. Edens, who once gave me their kind permission to share their creations on my poetry blog over at Salamander Cove. I would like to re-share them again today.
