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?
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.
