My world once held hands with love.
I held tightly onto the strings of life,
knotting them together
one by one.
I climbed the knots I made,
till my life was made,
then unmade then made again.
A collage of kindness
began to appear
a tapestry of beauty
was everywhere.
One day a summer day,
a sunny lovely day,
a sudden chill
fell upon my land.
Vicious strangers appeared
replacing love with laws
and tenderness with terror.
They say they are the owners
they say my land is their land.
They enacted laws,
built court houses,
hired police,
“to ensure the peace.”
My spirit now wilts
in the heat of the sun;
the trees bore fruit
but now I see their leaves
covered in soot.
I see behind me
a maze of imprisoned souls.
I look beside me,
we line the streets.
I look ahead of me
my world of love is filled with hate.
Shards of beauty
lie beneath
my feet.