for darfur - poem

darfur weeps

but her sobs fall on deaf ears

lady justice was said to be blind

but now we find she is as deaf as

the small child with a ringing in his ears

from standing too close to a live grenade.

darfur cries

but her tears fall on

the callused hands of cold men

too busy cleansing the land

of the stain left by their black water

when the question of 'what if'

becomes the reality of 'it is'

our answer changes from 'operation freedom'

to 'freedom aint free

and you can't afford to live'

mothers murdered

fathers slaughtered

and hope as fragile as the hymen

that was ruptured when their daughters were held against their will

we call it rape

they call it exaggerated

but the silence of 400 thousand dead is the same

in any language

no matter what you call it

under the bright sun of africa

their bleached bones shine as a beacon

hopin in vain that we understand the desperate

message they are trying to send even in their deaths

never again - but no one listens

never again - but no one pays attention

never again - but no one learns

as time and time again as if we're bound

to repeat our most hellish nightmares

we find ourselves back - again

we find ourselves reminded of

rwanda, the holocaust, cambodia

we find ourselves murdered

we find ourselves massacared

we find ourselves slaughtered

we find ourselves shouting

never again

we find ourselves screaming

never again

and we find ourselves hoping

with every last ounce

of our broken humanity

of every shattered dream

of every broken down family caused by the displacement

we found ourselves

hoping

praying

and wishing

never

again