.25 bleed

the guns are silent but the rape goes on*
and still, the shacks are destroyed.
and the young cry out
with a mournful plea
as still, they lie on the ground.

no shelter, they lack
no cool air to breathe,
neither doctors
nor teachers we see.
access denied
to the greener side
as still, their scarred eyes undeceived.

the barren
the witless
the worker unfed
the walker who walks for his life.
a saviour long gone,
his trust undeserved,
as still, the body broken bread.

you fell short,
you who call yourself a king.
where is your victory now?
the laboured were splattered
under pound-ing gold hooves,
the 'fountain of life'
soon ran dry.
and those who fleed
- not freed -
lost their
merry-go-round
and all you could say was
"be still".

and still,
they bleed.



*quote; Dewah Gray, President of the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia