Sameer Mehrab

The children of Aleppo

aleppo, allepo, children, sameer mehrab

 

Death is no longer a horror

Life is

Life which is dragged around the streets of Aleppo

Eyes wide open

Half dead, half alive

Half awake, half asleep

 

In times when hate is the only desire inhabiting hearts

Men find themselves incapable of believing what fellow men are capable of doing

In the streets of Aleppo children cry no more

They know tears won’t change a thing

They won’t bring back lost parents, playmates and teddy bears

When the world of fairy tales comes crumbling down under the weight of a bomb

Dreams, homes, hopes are lost for ever

 

What a tear of a child can move?

Hearts of fellow men? Mountains?

In the rain of fire from the sky

By the gods of earth

The children of Aleppo lost more than their playmates, teddy bears and Barbies

They lost the power of their tears

Which once moved mountains

Which once compelled the mom and dad to do get them those teddy bears and Barbies

They wouldn’t stop the rain of fire

Nor bring back their schools, teachers, playmates

Nor the books where fairies resided

Where brave princes cut down heads of dragons and giants

Where the monster always get defeated by the good prince

Who comes on the back of a white horse and rescues the princess jailed by an evil giant in his castle

 

The children in Aleppo

With broken tiny limbs

Bloodied faces

Cry no more

Everything comes crumbling down under the weight of a bomb

Yet it can’t force a child to shed a tear

How heavy is an unshed tear?

Don’t miss posts from Balochistan Times!

We don’t spam!

+ posts

Sameer Mehrab is a writer and co-founder of Balochistan Times. He often depicts Balochistan's socio-political dilemmas in his fiction and poetry. He is based in Canada.

Leave a Comment