War broke out
A man-made calamity
They had to run for life
They felt they had no choice
They had to leave their homes
their barns, their cattle
their pastures, their names
They had to run
No looking back
Look behind
and you’d be turned to stone
Where are they going?
Blankness. Period.
They are going to
cross borders by sea
For, it’s harder to do so by land
They are taking a chance
They can’t be worse off
than they already are
All things considered
Imagine the worst
Still you’d want to flee
for you don’t want
fire raining down on you
or death hunting you down
You don’t want bullets
making holes in the walls
in the human bodies
or in your souls
You better run
or you’d be history
There you are!
the vast blue sea
a boat overloaded
with wretched souls
sailing to safety
or to death
Nobody knows.
Nosheen Irfan © 2016
All Rights Reserved
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