Global Poetry | At War

Abandoned, I stand,
With wave after wave,
Crashing over me,
Yet I stand,

No I’m not invincible,
The waves lash out at me,
Thrashing, crashing and smashing me,
Leaving me writhing in pain,
Driving me insane,
This attack is arcane,
I feel trapped in a narrow lane,

I’m at war with myself,
I’m in search of inner peace,

They told me,
That you find peace piece by piece,
Only then will this raging fire cease,
But I can’t handle it,
My brain turns into cheese,
When the death tolls continuously increase,
When violence refuses to decrease,

I’m at war with myself,
I’m in search of inner peace,

I’m an ecstatic dervish,
Dancing to my death,
Searching desperately for peace,
With every dying breath,
They tell me I’ll never be at rest,
That my search for peace is abject,
They say I put their patience to test,
I’m a woman beaten inside out,
I’m a woman standing alone in a leering crowd,

I’m at war with myself,
I’m in search of inner peace,

I’m a woman with a barren womb,
I’m a woman trapped inside a tomb,
I’m a woman whose baby was snatched from her breast,
I’m a woman whose child died in a refugee camp,
I’m a woman who has lost everything,

I’m at war with myself,
I’m in search with inner peace,

I’m writing my song of peace in blood,
Can you see smears, tears, splotches and blotches?
As I slit my wrist,
And bleed this poem,
In remembrance of all those who left us,
I slit my throat and the soft coo of the dove escapes my throat,
Soothing me,
Reminding me that the ending is just the beginning,

So I raise my bloody hands towards the star struck sky,
And marvel at God’s work,
The sound that escapes my lips is louder than a bomb yet softer,
Than a whisper,
As I recite my prayer for peace,

I’m at war with myself,
I’m in search of inner peace.