I think of the people that stood on that side
of the fence, behind barbed wire,
starved, beaten, treated like cattle, shamed,
de-humanized, and forgotten. The people
on this side of the fence were sent to help,
but at some point had to wonder just why
they had to come at all. 'This doesn't concern us,
this isn't our problem, why get involved?'
Open the gates, smell
the ash, rub it between your fingertips.
Lives rendered like so much tallow, still burn
as bright, lighting the way to truth, forsaking the darkness,
but being one with it as well. This is why we fight
- to keep the darkness at bay.
© by Trish Shields
111102