Editor's Choice
Theme: Plight

A Raw Song of War

In a world without role models
A waif fends for herself
Conspicuously alone
Elbowing for a toe hold
Paralyzed with fear 
The fortunate dead buried
Under the foul-smelling rubble

'Her beauty is cursed',
Her grandmother would proudly say
Brutally ravaged
The girl's fantasies
Of love as celebration
A muted dream of ashes
Murmured and forgotten

Nervous and fretful
Lest the savages return
She looks for a lurking sniper
To put an end to the searing numbness
That travels from toes
Up to her entrails
To erase grandma's pride 

A broken soul
Still nubile to tempt the hunters
A neglected can of fuel
Her scarred body on fire
Sang songs of love
In a block of pock-marked buildings
Happy to be undesirable
Safe at last.

04-Sep-2016

More By  :  Mamta Joshi

Views: 1384     Comments: 0


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