(Ordeals of Mother Earth)
Tell them I’ve not ordered the killings
Which has resulted to the fleeing.
So, they should beware
Of what used to be rare.
Tell them water is still my favourite drink
And not blood, if that is what they think.
I’m not interested in what they enjoy
Because it makes me annoyed.
Do they need an interpreter
Before they understand the sound of wailing?
Or do they need concave lens
To see the anarchy and chaos they are causing?
If all religions condemn this horrific act
In whose name is the killing then?
See Humans roasted like sacrificial ram.
Or are they not tired of making headlines for evil?
Tell them to cease using corpses as manure
And refrain from irrigating with blood.
Citizens now live in fear
And even scared to come out to breath in fresh air.
Is man slaughter a part of their prayer rite?
Or is the spilling of blood a fundamental right?
If blood is sweet
Let them drink it in their meal, not me.
Have their hearts turned stones
That the tears of orphans don’t leave them broken?
Or are their conscience like dead stumps
That the plea of the widows don’t move them?
If they derive joy in killing
Let them proceed to work in the abattoir.
And if throwing bombs is their hobby
Let them represent their country in shot putting.
You shall not kill any (Nafs) person.
Can someone then tell me who ordered the killings ?
The voices of the innocents are crying out for vengeance.
For the Lord said He takes no pleasure even in the death of a sinner.
They’ll pay dearly for every life they take
When they meet with the Great Judge
To know their fate.
For that, I know they can’t dodge.
Okeme Jerome
Mother Earth ‘s lament is rendered with accurately aching words and striking stylistic devices. Her calling out to the human race is a question no one can elude. Choosing it for analysis is a great way to share it and make everyone understand how urgently these problems must be addressed. To me, this is great literature.
And we seem not to notice the harm we are doing to earth, to us.