The Cost of War by Tiema H.M

There is blood

There are wounded

Human sufferings

Sprawling the streets

Scattered all over places

On the floors

Pavements

In hospitals

Some caught while asleep

Others barely a day old

A graphic narrative of war

Piercing through the still night

Gunshots and blasts

With repeated cries

Groaning

Of the wounded and dying

As an orphan is born

As a widow is made

A graphic narrative of war

The price of war

That so much lives should be lost

For one life to live

That so much pain should be caused

For one power to prevail

Yet no war bring peace

Though it might seem to be

Tranquility of a ceasefire

Has never been source of peace

Neither a soldier who surrenders

Has never been a coward

To the enemy

And though a century might pass

And a generation is born

The blood that split planted a seed

A seed of vengeance

A seed of revenge

That a pin drop rattle could trigger a war

And those who held others captive

Could now be prisoners

For a war has never been

A source of peace

By Tiema HM

Tiema is a practicing journalist and a Journalism and Media Studies lecturer at Damelin City Campus, based in South Africa.
She is a poet and a playwright.

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