A poem for the Orlando victims

Jun 22, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,

The flower of youth plucked too soon
A mother’s world broken, dreams doomed,
A beloved son slain at high noon
A most despicable act of violence,
Drained all joy from the cup of life
Cruel and bitter the pain to endure,
Most tragic this turn of fate for sure.

Heavier than the vast and mighty Himalayas
The pain and suffering wrought by violence,
Seen in silent grief and flow of tears
In the faces of orphans and refugees,
The tormented and abused
The crippled and maimed,
In the tortured minds of soldiers
Recalling many a battlefield horrors,
In childhood innocence blighted
Witness to bloodshed unabated,
None can chronicle the true toll of violence
Flooring so many to eternal silence,
Yet this macabre dance daily stirred to frenzy
Goaded by men with no human conscience,
Applauding with sadistic delight the evil in violence.

All violence most loathsome and evil
The epitome of our disgrace and insanity,
Whether in wars, conflicts, riots, or communal strife
In targeted killings, racial profiling or petty fights,
In acts of terror and cruel hatred
From the fanatic spirit so deeply rooted,
In daily slaughter by warring gangs
With the innocents in the cross-fire,
In horrific acts by drug – twisted minds
Their reason and thinking so steep in decline,
In conquests and cruel subjugation
Brutal torture that staggers the imagination,
In quest for domination and power
On the streets or on the world’s arena,
In insatiable greed for wealth and prestige
Exploiting and oppressing the poor and meek,
In asserting our special purity
In caste and racial superiority,
Violence indeed the cardinal sin
Even mere thought of harming another,
However righteous and sacred our agenda
Is enough to darken our karma.
Vain indeed our prayers and rituals
Sacrifices and sacred observances,
When even an iota of violent thought
Resides in the recesses of the heart.

CECIL RAMKIRATH

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News