Sunday, December 18, 2016

December 18, 2016 The Sunday Whirl @78 -- Sunday's Whirligig #90 -- Poets United Poets Pantry/ The Chrildren of Aleppo

The Children of Aleppo
today cold         perfect day to curl up on the couch            cuddle into the cushions

select a favorite book    thrust my toes toward the fire        the morning quiet

the neighborhood like a graveyard      no one about       snowflakes balance on the sage

the sun is out        snow glistens as it melts        dripping moisture onto the thirsty earth



christmas cards still in the package     maybe they are for next christmas     even the wind

is lazy today                still snuggled in             the mother and father playing makebelieve

tell the children about a jolly fat man dressed in red            who drives a team of reindeer

on christmas eve          brings good children gifts            a bag of switches for bad children



... I wonder... what did the children of Aleppo do?



worlds collide             they say it is civil war life                          grinds to a halt

war machines take the streets       life a nightmare                        the volume of war

turned up                    children scream                                          grown men cry

misery is everywhere        everyone trying to escape                    find a safe place



someone dreams of the warmth of straw in the barn                sunbeams filter through

dust motes in the air     eating figs on a summer's day      wasting the afternoon because we can

memories of another time                  today is cold                   our homes in rubble

the road home has vanished        struck from the face of the earth       death and destruction



the symbol of war is everywhere           citizens mutter           search the rubble

for bread                                      the spirit of man down                        but not out

comfortable in our warm beds             we wonder                    how they do it

could we do the same                  could we survive                   could our children

December 18, 2016





















11 comments:

brudberg said...

The comfort of Christmas can numb us from the horrors a bit, but in the end it will eat us. Those who can watch it, or press a button... can they sleep at night?

scotthastiepoet said...

I do what you are doing these days especially Annell - you make powerful points and juxtapositions using this form that really resonate... With Best Wishes Scott

Sherry Blue Sky said...

The children of Aleppo..........living in a man made hell. I feel like North America is poised on the edge of a cliff. I hope we dont topple over into experiencing warlike conditions on our own continent. Sigh.

ZQ said...

:( An understanding posture. Well written...

Gillena Cox said...

Your wonderful style of writing shine through. AL the questions all the thoughts well pieced. I am riveted throughout the reading

Happy Holidays

Much love...

Anonymous said...

Thank you Annell, for being you. Seeing past the obvious and telling your truth. Your comparisons are both apt, and caused this reader to gasp more than once.

Elizabeth

Old Egg said...

Yes, we could. There are many still alive that endured and survived wars where senseless bombing took place especially in Europe in WW2. Some bombing was terror bombing like that of London and some was careless where bombers turned back shed their bombs on farms and schools and houses to berable to get home quicker. I lived through that and rulers and politicians today still don't consider the populace of any account in wartime.

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

Fate seems so haphazard, doesn't it?

Sumana Roy said...

I saw a video clip of Aleppo yesterday, where a woman was screaming for all her dead children in an air strike and a dazed and wounded child who has forgotten to cry...

Jae Rose said...

Worlds apart and yet we all have the same needs - comfort, warmth, safety.. i believe the next generation will have to survive.. it would be far better if they could live however

Myrna R. said...

I often wonder too if we could withstand such suffering. Your poem contrast so well the privileges we are used to versus the losses the people of Aleppo have endured. It's all so sad.

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