Strangers

Battle zone silent,
  purple haze lifts,
  stench settles,
  cooling corpse screams theft
  in its silence …

  of breath lost,
but can’t,
in words,
failed test.

See lifeless young mother,
  never met,
  crying child,
  on bloodied breast.

Gun in window,
  unnoticed,
  ‘til fired.
  tries to save,
  fails,
  too slow,
maybe tired.

Yes too tired,
  killing strangers,
  year old girl at home,
  don’t know daddy …
a stranger.

Gun bursts twice,
  unnoticed,
  blood gushes wild,
  a flooding Nile,
  swallowed by sand.

Feels a stranger’s prick,
  a 50-calibre bite,
  draining life,
  quick.

He screams like hell,
  vomits bile,
  falls,
  whispers, "sorry,"  with final breath.
 
It’s over for the corpse,
  alone,
  cold,
  eyes closed;
screaming in its silence,
  WHY DIE …
a stranger?

Reviews

[Joiedevivre]

A potent portrayal of the futility, injustice and mishaps of war. Excellent write.

[emmajoy]

Not a kind poem, but then, that scene happens time after time and is more than tragedy. Powerful, violent words.

[Henry Clemmons]

This poem will not be featured long. It was one of the first I ever wrote at about 12 or 13. I just wanted to give it some light before I shot and burried it. No pressure to comment on it.