A Waiting Shadow

In ravaged lands, where war's dark wings do spread A child lies weak, with hunger's heavy dread Kwashiorkor's grasp, a slow and painful fate A tiny body, worn by conflict's cruel weight A vulture watches, with calculating gaze Awaiting death's dark whisper, in life's fading haze A shadow cast, upon the parched earth below A grim reminder, of life's fleeting, fragile glow Oh, heartbreak's heavy toll, in this desolate land Where innocence is lost, and hope's last ember's stand A child's bright smile, now faded, lost to pain A future's promise, shattered, like the shards of broken grain The vulture's patience, a cruel, heartless thing A symbol of the darkness, that war's destructive wing Brings forth the worst, in humanity's dark design Leaving behind, a trail of sorrow, heartbreak's heavy shrine In this bleak scene, we find a heartbreak so profound A sorrow that echoes, across the desolate ground For in the end, it's not the vulture's waiting gaze But humanity's failure, that brings us to our knees in heartbreak's daze.