Credit to Noell Oszvald
cattle, slave, devil
these are not my names
carved on my desert skin
i am bull's light keeper
looking to free my sisters
~0~0~
i weep for my ancient faith
and sins of all dead tribesmen
like a lost sheep
i weep for more than
40 days and nights
~0~0~
who hears
slaughtering of goats
young girl's tears as she is beaten & tied down
burning of old temples
who?
~0~0
before I'm to be sold
as a gift to black-masked killer,
i make a death wish
wrapping scarves around my neck, so tight
sun razed red soil to ash
Posted for D'verse - OpenLinkNight - Hosted by Bjorn Rudberg
I chose to write about the plight of Yadizi women, who are suffering from persecution under the militant ISIS.
The most persecuted of them all.. when we talk IS.. the Iazidi people... it's dawning on people that afterwards we'll understand, that it's beyond killing, it's systematic genocide.. terrible nightmarish. The brutal honesty is so well written..
ReplyDeleteIt's a genocide, I agree ~ Thanks Bjorn ~
DeleteI hear the sadness, read the pain, feel the devastation. Who can help? When!
ReplyDeleteI like the little touches, the 40 days and nights, lost sheep. It is heartbreaking what is happening around our world. I dont know if you heard but here in the states we had another school shooting today. SOrry I am a bit consumed with that.The eradication of people groups based on any belief or culture - its heart breaking.
ReplyDeleteChrist, another school shooting? I can sometimes see how some of us feel that NOW is the End Times. Middle Eastern women have been in jeopardy for all of Muslim recorded history, that & the rape of young boys really puts my teeth on edge. I like your lines /I am bull's light keeper/looking to free my sisters/.
ReplyDeleteYou inky lines run straight through my veins, standing my hairs on end. Such a poignant read!
ReplyDeleteSuch a poignant & powerful poem!!
ReplyDeletei'm glad you give them a voice
ReplyDeletetoo many lives threatened and destroyed by militant groups already
when will this madness ever end
Truly sad how
ReplyDeletemany women
are crucified
where no
one wears
tHeir
cross
or
prophet
of pain...
Vivid writes of the awfulness of this world of ours dear Grace.
ReplyDeleteI do so fear (so called) ISIL as it drags us back to the dark ages, and our governments seem to allow it, lest they be diverted from their pursuit of wealth.
I do so wonder if the west had intervened at the time the Syrian people were crying out for help - would things be different now...?
Kind regards
Anna :o]
It hardens ones heart to know these were the feelings of far too many poor souls.
ReplyDeleteSuch people who commit such things in this world deserve their own special spot to rot.
ReplyDeleteChillingly well imagined Grace and so worth writing... With Best Wishes Scott
ReplyDeleteA heart felt piece. Well written and touches on a lot of intimate things.
ReplyDeletepowerful writing.
ReplyDeleteA genocide in many regions where women and the infirmed seem to be a convenient target. It just merits a flutter of the eyes and a grimace!
ReplyDeleteHank
Thank you for sharing this. I learned something I did not know before
ReplyDeleteA way to honour them, Grace. Well written.
ReplyDeleteHeart-breaking to read but you expose the darkness of IS and it cannot stand the light of truth...some are lost sheep, others wolves in sheep's skin.
ReplyDeleteExcellently told, Grace, your writing brought their torment alive in my mind. I would be making a death wish too. It could be the sad tale of many, many different tribes that are being systematically terrorized and destroyed worldwide. In my sorrow I always wonder, when will it all end.
ReplyDeleteA very important subject... but it's happening more commonly than we think and we must examine the root cause of the constant turmoil and war as well!
ReplyDeleteSo heartbreaking. I don't know what the world is doing and why it even started.
ReplyDeleteMisogyny and abuse of women still soils this world on many counts. We hear about some of the worst of it because the media promotes certain information and ignores others. For thousands of years women have been persecuted and our gains are recent, barely a century and we still have far to go.
ReplyDeleteIt is the ignored persecution of women which is most common and some of the worst is in Hindu India where I lived for many years. ISIS excess may be 'flavour of the month' but it is not unique and not the worst.
Sad and heartbreaking poem.
ReplyDeleteSuch a powerful proclamation and yet in the face of powerlessness she chooses a power of her own - in some way perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThat piece of artwork is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteExcellent line breaks:
"like a lost sheep
i weep for more than"
"who hears
slaughtering of goats" ... This easily turns into "who hears slaughtering of ghosts."
To me, this poem is about struggling spiritually, not feeling good enough for God, feeling almost like you've been sold to the devil. I even wonder if the speaker's sisters are actually her selves, the voices inside her.
This is exquisite, Grace.
So powerful and sad. I had to read it a few times just to absorb all the meaning and impact. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteIntense. Blood and sacrifice is a theme, I think.
ReplyDeleteYour poetry is very timely and topical and yet also timeless somehow - the plight of persecution and genocide everywhere. Really subtly yet powerfully done!
ReplyDeleteThis was achingly sad, well done. You took a repugnant horror and gave it its proper due.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said there is such power amongst the sadness. You bring light to darkness.
ReplyDeleteRealistic, riveting and so tragically true. The evil is so hard to comprehend.
ReplyDeleteThis is so powerful, Grace. I think our thoughts and words have tremendous power, if enough of us send thoughts of healing, healing will happen.
ReplyDeletePowerful, poignant and intense - more so, I think, because of your choice to write in the first person.
ReplyDeleteSad but beautiful, Grace. The things that people do...
ReplyDeleteSad but beautiful, Grace. The things that people do...
ReplyDelete