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In Humanity

Orphaned by hate
Widowed by spite
Battered by brutality
Scarred for life
We are
The faces of tragedy
Sculpted by the tools of terror.

Stammering with sorrow
Uttering rage
Expressing uncertainty
Manifesting helplessness
We are
The voices of a city
Tempered by the trauma of terror.

Listening in anguish
Watching with disbelief
Waiting in fear
Susceptible to rumour
We are
The conscience of a country
Stricken by the torture of terror.

And, in our voices, on our faces, 
In the depths of a conscience
We are
A breed of people
That can only wonder
At the inhumanity of humanity.

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Alister Renaux

Date: 5/11/2009 11:27:00 PM

Thanks Raul and Carol. I have been absolutely swamped with work over the last few months - teaching can be a tough job! Anyway, I have posted a new poem that you might enjoy. Thanks again. Alister

Raul Moreno

Date: 5/3/2009 9:35:00 PM

Alister, my belated congrats in making the semi finals...Raul

Carol Sunshine Brown

Date: 4/28/2009 12:19:00 PM

Congratulations on your poetry making it into the semi finals. Wishing you the best of luck in the finals. Love, Carol

Alister Renaux

Date: 2/2/2009 12:53:00 AM

Hi Frank, If you do not mind me asking, where are you from? As I had earlier mentioned I had written the poem after the Mumbai terror attacks, but I had written it hoping it would have universal appeal. For all our education and our technological advances we remain primitive at best: raping the world we live in.

Carol Sunshine Brown

Date: 1/28/2009 5:47:00 AM

Congratulations Alister on your poetry being chosen to feature this week. May you have many more excellent poems featured. Love, Carol

Donna Golden

Date: 1/27/2009 10:12:00 PM

The thoughts of a nation resonate here, Alister. Very well done. Donna G.

Tyesha Ehigiator

Date: 1/27/2009 4:42:00 PM

Very deep poem,a lot to think about here....You really revealed so much painful truth...Nicely done..God Bless *Tyesha

Laura Mckenzie

Date: 1/27/2009 12:55:00 PM

Alister Wow what a great writeyou captured every feeling ! Congratulations on your featured poem! Laura :)

Alister Renaux

Date: 1/27/2009 2:54:00 AM

Thanks so much for the comments. They are definitely motivating and offer me a sense of purpose. Yes, in the last few months I have been telling my wife that watching the news is more horrifying than the generic horror flick.

Elaine George

Date: 1/27/2009 2:18:00 AM

Dear Alister, this is a very powerful poem. After all this time, what has manhind learned when inhumanity still exists? I asked myself this each time I watch the news. Lainie

Vince Suzadail Jr.

Date: 1/26/2009 7:50:00 PM

Congratulations Alister on your poem "In Humanity" being featured. Vince

Sharon Winter

Date: 1/26/2009 7:20:00 AM

Congratulations on your featured write of the week. Well deserved. Love, Shar

Alister Renaux

Date: 1/25/2009 11:10:00 PM

Thanks for the comments. The terror attacks on Mumbai prompted this poem and it is meant to reflect the immensely tragic state of "a world at war with itself".

Date: 1/25/2009 1:27:00 PM

So much truth in your words--a tragedy in a "civilized world." Powerful poem. Congratulations on having it featured. I wish you ongoing success with your writing. Karen