I Cried, I Laugh

I cried beneath our sacred tree When those lions were brought amongst our sheep When our house was divided by three and yet by two When our ancient shield was stolen by a heartless few. I cried when our three clan heads, united by greed Bid us sing many ancestral war songs Bid us poison the one communal water pond. I cried; a tiny ant trapped between three fuming elephants All set for battle All spurred on by the three whispering serpents Clutching a trident; two horns and a flaming tail. I cried when my clan of pure blood Burnt down its home for the crescent and the cross. I cried; for how could foreign waters be thicker than our blood? I cried when those toothless lions desecreted our one sacred destiny. Now I laugh, the bitter laughter of a long conquered eunuch For I see my end A drowned ant in a sea of elephant blood In a broken home divided by three and yet by two.