friendly fire is in the news today
oh boy
4 canadian boys died
mistaken for the enemy
already fingers are pointed
a nation rattles its sabers
disgruntled at the high price
of standing up for little 'd'
democracy
did they think it would be in
name only
reaping the glamour of war
without paying the piper?
later, two men waged war
venting their spleens on a pet
using pliers to remove ears
they themselves have shut off
using tweezers to pluck eyes
so they can be blind to their disease.
and when they were done
holding a bit of fur the size of a cat
their punishment didn't fit their crime
- the judge stating that the heinous
act wasn't the worst that could have
been inflicted on this defenseless being.
in the afternoon paper
I read of parents wrapped so tightly
in their unhappiness
that they took their frustrations out
on a wee child
someone they solemnly promised
to love and protect
though not verbally
obviously not emotionally
- silently, in an agreement
between them and God
enforced upon inception.
13 cracked ribs
a tooth found in his belly
- the judge decried it as the
worst case of child abuse
in Canada's documented history.
lying alone and in pain
this child knew nothing of
the love and protection promised.
were his words, his pleas for help
spoken aloud or murmured deep
in the night when they had finally
done with him?
will those entrusted with his life
hear him as they sit in a cell
for the next ten years
or have they plucked their eyes
prised their ears
rattled their sabers
vented their spleens
pleading 'misunderstanding'
as they walk into daylight
their time of solitude over?
I hear a bell
it tolls for me
- one in a village that
has forgotten its job.
© by Trish Shields
042202