Mucky labyrinths lead to castles of pain

Dingy, choking alleys give way

to spaces of loss.

Shrills of outlanders echo in the fearful silence

Trampling Jackboots walk up to the House of God

Piercing metal cuts through dreams;

rosary falls apart.

Bullet holes on the mosque door,

lead to tunnels of pain- infinite and dark!      

Rain moans as it falls,

on graves dug last summer

in row, without epitaphs.

The ageless Wilderness where we belong!

Wild flowers surround a grave, 

Bud; buried in the school yard

Silent.         

Cracks in mud walls deepen,

as his mother kisses his last memory;

a dim photo in a shroud.

His room, a Shrine!

School bag and clothes

Relics; treasured!

Sun returns

Wintry silence remains

His siblings wait

Wait doesn’t fade

Snow that hid the graves has melted.

But traces of autumn linger,

treasuring in them the gone by summer.

Rain clouds gather

School bell rings

Uproar!

His fellows eager to meet him,

run to school in euphoria.

Jumping, clapping and dancing crazy,

stamping life into the dead earth.

Exuberance fades when they see the wild flowers

Touching the earth of the grave,

their little hands  tremble.

Eyes, shedding innocence, reflect the wild flowers;

And they run,

faraway, not stopping.

Their badges fall

Shuddering in a safe corner in the backyard,

they catch their breaths,

and wipe their rain-kissed faces.

Mud puddles reflect their faces

Gasoline rainbow in the puddles,

they disturb and stir and destroy.

Little hands join; a Pledge.

To clear the garden of the wild flowers

School bags left near the well,

hoping to return.

Under a weak sun they toil hard,

to uproot the wild flowers.

Beads of sweat on their foreheads shine

The spade turns red

And they dig all day.

Fatigued,

all fall asleep under the Maple.

Afternoon sun breaks through the clouds

Silver sky! And they dream One-

a beautiful garden.

Of Almond and Apple blossoms,

Of Bleeding Hearts and Baby Breaths

Of Forget-Me-Nots, and Rosemaries

Of Lilies, Lavenders

Of Immortal Flowers!

And sleep becomes an eternity

Morning monstrous sky sees them as flowers.

Buried! Buds in graves.       

Wild flowers guarding them.

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