Ryan Jake wrote this poem 06/14/00 and sent it to me this morning. I liked it so much that I wanted to post it right away. And though it paints a grim and haunting picture, the imagery is excellent. - poetheart 06/15/00
The sun beats down, The ground is dry
They try to survive, Another day goes by
Week after week, Bellies bloated with air
Skeletons roam the earth, Starving and bare
The well has no water, The field has no seed
The dust blows past them, The sores open and bleed
There is no food for eating, Mother's milk has dried up
A prayer for some help, A chance for some luck
Broken teeth cannot chew, emaciated jaws do not eat
Broken brittle with hunger fall silent at your feet
Mothers and Fathers, Families like dropping stones
They cannot survive, If they're left all alone
Babies whose short lives were ended so fast
Destroyed before they started, No chance for a past
Elderly tribesmen who lived so long
Crumble in heaps, Unable to be strong
The bugs do not bite, For there is no blood
Just a pile of dead bodies, Buried in the mud
As the cruel sun strikes and the ground blows by
Remember the skeletons, Who are sure to die
by Ryan Jake 06/14/00