6th January, 2023

The Eyes of Rwanda

Bones lie en masse.

Mass is not a prayer

grand enough

to save these souls

from the ash they lie in now.

 

Eyes hollow

I drop through

so deep

I may never climb above this sorrow.

 

A soul barely visible

sinks to her knees.

Her skin wraps so tightly,

like a noose.

I am sure she will fall

and there is nothing left to help her rise

Her eyes…

 

Blood

dripping from clouds

so full

upon the river bodies drifting.

Breeding,

seeds of hatred spread.

The fragrance turns to stench

and all are drenched in fear.

 

I dream death

on a warm summer night.

The air is still.

My sleep is filled

with cries.

It is here I lie for days to come

undone.

I cannot go back.

 

 

*I wrote this after watching a 1994 news broadcast about the Rwandan genocide. I was haunted by it.