The Tin Man
They said he had no heart at all
They said he felt no pain
The stone-faced man just gave the facts
No feelings would he feign
He talked of floods and accidents
He spoke of deadly quakes
There were reports of surgeries
He spoke of bites from snakes
But then one day a war broke out
It was one of the worst
The man who was most seasoned
He would report it first
Day and night, the two sides fought
The massacre was brutal
Leaders said they saw no hope
They said the talks were futile
One night the man reported late
The sun was going down
The light was still enough to see
The story done in town
The bullets came from everywhere
Small fires raged around
The camera man had focused in
It seemed there was no sound
The little girl had stumbled out
She could have been his own
Her face had blood, her skin was torn
The building had been blown
The girl appeared as in a daze
But still their eyes did meet
Amidst the terror all around
She walked across the street
She seemed just like an angel
Her dress was burnt and torn
She held her hands out to the man
Her little face forlorn
Not more than thirty feet away
His eyes fixed on the girl’s
A bullet flew and she went down
The blood had drenched her curls
The man just stood in silence
Like time had stopped in space
The tin man’s heart had melted
And tears streamed down his face
They said he never was the same
the killing took a toll
They said that you could almost see
where bullets pierced his soul
Copyright © Samia Ali Salama | Year Posted 2012
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