For the Children

Sky an anvil
banners struck in colourful display
horses fleeing

children watching
feet worn from strains
of anxiety

the day has not yet
begun
mother awake
there is still time

for sorrow
to retreat from their
family test
her eyes notice
stirring among the people

older than years
vision not yet focused
yet wisdom in
searching eyes
without water
roads and schools
still home
in the land called
Afghanistan

a land of bullets and
bombs
a land of despair
and home
a land of love and futures.

© Richard L. Provencher