What happens when the light goes out

by nouriguess   Dec 9, 2014


Nothing.

His plucked nails will still hurt,
but we won't see him hurt.

Heads will still be rolling on the cement,
hung in the subways, blood-stained
and cold and rot-scented,
but our eyes won't tear up at that image.

We will still be hunching our backs
for the boots of policemen, for
the claws of poverty to dig deeper
and deeper and
deeper,
except, in the darkness, nobody will get offended.
A king will still be raping his slaves,
but the truth and the blood on
their pale faces will be silently erased once
he's finished.

A kid will still be painting birds,
she'll still paint them
in the holes of cannons,
on the tops of tanks,
amidst the crowd of bullets,
near her father and above his helmet,
warbling their last songs,
but we won't have to listen to their stories.

A lover will still be running,
but he won't realize that he hasn't escaped yet,
just crossed the distance
his long chains allowed.

Only when
there's no light.

There's no light. Sometimes, you
just need to turn it off.

9


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Latest Comments

  • 6 years ago

    by mossgirl19

    I will never know war the way you do and reading this made me think that I am still blessed that I do not go through that hard times. This poem shows how much you are affected by it and how you have somehow accepted your fate but remains strong. This is such an inspirational piece.

  • 6 years ago

    by Naughtymouse

    This is an immense write, very powerful and absorbing, as the reader reads, you get this kinda tunnel vision where you are so focused on the words it just compels you to read more and more.

    Wonderful and sad and gripping write.

    Ben

  • 6 years ago

    by Lost One

    What do you do when you still see those things when you turn the light off? Lately I dont sleep much...

  • 8 years ago

    by Em

    This is very powerful, flawless and captivating from start to finish. The emotion is gripping and heartfelt. Well written

  • 9 years ago

    by Abed

    Ya immi shu 7ilwi... :'(
    <3

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