Song of the Survivor

Mea culpea, mea culpea!
My song each day as I awake.
There are holes in the fabric of my life,
there where once I kissed friend
and family,
Is now a black well of emptiness;
and my little spotted dog
does not bark anymore
never, no more!
Nor will my sister sing again,
she was a nightingale in the morning.

That night was loud
with the screaming of the wind
but I hear the silence
when the voices of the children fell still.

I won't touch the metal
my teeth will suffice;
Oh how I abhor the smell,
and the colour red has lost
Its life - giving shine;
I now see only death,
painted on the walls
of the churches and compounds,
soaked into the fruitful earth,
feeding the callous river.
The flies at the feast are blue, black
and shiny green.
Mea culpea,mea culpea!
I live, but death looks through my eyes
and the silence is still alive with screaming!