(re-edit)

I came upon a man, unsettled

Wandering a barren land

He'd lost his hope and joy somewhere

So, I took his trembling hand

 

I told him I had lost my heart

And my soul had flown away

But, together, perhaps, we could find

A better place to stray

 

We came across a weeping girl

With skin of obsidian black

Her flesh was torn and gaping red

Where the whip had left its tracks

 

She said, I fear you think my skin

Is weaker than your own

We kissed her wounds and held her tight

For we are all just flesh and bone

 

We wandered far, hand in hand 

Discarding footprints of our sorrows

A chain of flesh to plough the earth

And sow seeds for new tomorrows

 

Soon we were a hundred strong

And then a thousand fold

All colours, creed and persuasions

Breaking oppressive moulds

 

We fought with love instead of hate

To suppress benighted crowds

Turned rifles to wisteria

And missiles into clouds 

 

And laid beneath the golden sun

Our utopia took its shape

And for many an enlightened year

We siphoned of its wake

 

Forests grew, and flowers bloomed 

As humanity regaled in bliss

We foraged hope, nurtured love

And hate we did not miss

 

But minds become forgetful

To the seeds of jealousy

And they sprout and grow like weeds

In the world's periphery

 

And they grew until the earth cracked open

With repressed, volcanic release

And fire and smoke blotted the sun

And choked our world of peace

 

They gouged our eyes, flayed our skin 

And beat us to the ground

Mercy and compassion 

Were no-longer to be found

 

But one of us escaped

On bloody knees and trembling hands

He became a man, unsettled

Wandering barren lands.

 

 

© Stephen W Atkinson 2020