War: Incredible Indifference

As innocents are killed, the powerful convene fruitless meetings, exchanging hollow condolences, indifferent to the plight of war victims- writes Jaihoon

The war has begun:
Expected though.

So what did I
Or you lose?
Aren’t our homes
Conveniently safe?

Why were the hawks
Invited?
Why were the swarms
Welcomed?

They say,

‘In the name of safety,
For the sake of security’.

But what do they know
Of the price paid hefty?

What a time has come:
Bu Jahl and Bu Lahab
Have self-adorned
The Robe of Faith.

What a time has come:
In the house of the Faith-wine
The talk of Intoxication
Is forbidden!

The hawk and its poodles think
Changing ‘regimes’
Is just another game
In the Big Brother’s Office.

How ‘noble’ their
Imperialist hearts:
They mourn the dead
At funeral meets.

So what can we do?
So what can’t we do?

Let us keep
Our mouths shut:
Our voices remain
Within our shameless hut.

Let us still sit
In a silent corner
And chant prayers,
At snail-pace.

While, in the land
Of the enemy,
Men and women
March in protest!

Let us still hold
Useless meetings
To coldly exchange
Condolence greetings.

And in the end,
Cowardly conclude:
Shoulder no blame
For the innocent blood!

March 20, 2003. Edit 2024