‘Humanitarian’ Pause

A poem about the deception of war

Photo by on

Tip toe
Follow the trail
Watch where the weapons flow
Missiles designed to mislead your eyes
Not the ones that blast down a hospital in plain sight
Precision killings, we are told, shredding flesh from bone
Dirty drones, an iron dome
That’s not what keeps cargos away
It just gives our leaders a chance to trade

The deadliest of arms lies on tongues
‘Sustainable ceasefire!’
‘Proportionate action!’
‘Humanitarian pause!’
Words decorated by men in crisp white shirts
Resemble the signs and sounds of a new morality
While children lay dying of hunger and thirst
Or if they are lucky
A quick blast

Tip toe
Follow the path of money and artillery
Listen to our leaders
Who look for doors
Or should I say ‘corridors’ in their own homes
Grappling this complicated scenario
That no human could truly understand
To pause or not? To vote or not?
When all the while there was no time to deliberate or contemplate,
To vote…