Marketplace Massacre

Flowers lie upon a grave, innocence dead in a foreign land The peace shattered like ice when bombs burst in burning sand Children taken in the prime of life, gone with just a passing glance As planes fly overhead, circling their targets in a macabre dance Bombs drop and explode, tearing through a market and a child The mother drops to her knees, and the crowd becomes wild As the child shudders, frozen with fear and anguish as he lies His mother shouts for help, through broken sobs and cries Cries heard in the hearts of millions, but disregarded by most As thousands of miles away sits this war’s malevolent host He speaks of happier times ahead, freedom is on the march Tell it to the children, whose parents he killed, or is that too harsh? A criminal speaks to the nation, of dire threats and genocide Invoking the names of the dead to bring the living to his side To take up arms against one’s fellow man, to commit atrocities in his name And with thousands buried in simple graves, with him lies the blame As good men and women fall in his name for his bloody endeavor People at home and around the world raise their voices and shout “Freedom! Forever!”