If I Could Reach Her

If I Could Reach Her

Reaching out into the cold spring sky
The atmosphere of peace and solitude
In the blissful tranquility of a Bruges canal
Reaching out further steadily, steadily
Feeling the air of the morning chill lick my hand
Whilst listening to the soft sounds of trickling water
And people laughing
A million miles away from my home land

Congo.
A country torn by the horrors of war
Lives ruined in decades past
The terror of conflict
Still painfully prevalent in my life
Waking up each morning to the sound of war
The vague memories clinging defiantly to the back of my mind
The memories of death
The memories of suffering
The memories of danger,

10 long years later
I can still hear the sound of guns
The gasping, screaming noises
Caused by the land mines placed carelessly before them,

10 long years later
I still close my eyes to see the atrocities of years gone by
Burning villages
the Frightened fleeing
Traumatised onlookers
The farewell tear in my mothers eye
fearful memories of being that little boy again
For a duration of another morning
Before it comes to a jolting halt, I wake once more back in the present

The pain and anguish of my mother
The evil of this world
As I leave her with it
Putting everything aside and leaving my broken country

Wondering, wondering
Where she is
Will I see her again?
Is she dead?

Reaching out over the water
Looking up at the clean blue sky
Thinking of my mother
I would never leave her again
If I could just reach her
I would tell her
I'm alive.