This piece was inspired by events in the Ivory Coast and other volatile parts of the world.
When we line them up in the town squares
Blindfolded, hands tied behind them, barefooted in the cold
Large crowds staring and cheering
As they bear witness to the powerful now fallen
When the volunteers take up their guns and aim
Wait for the command and proceed to fire
When the bullets hit them
When they scream in pain
The crowds yell loudly and applaud
When they go limp as their souls leave their bodies
As we disperse with the crowds headed towards our homes
We will not let our conscience worry us
God will understand
When their families weep and gnash their teeth
When their corpses are thrown to the dogs
Oh no, no state burial for you sir
When their possessions are repossessed
Their mansions destroyed and turned into garbage dumps
When the soil of their farmlands are tilled with salt
Nothing will ever grow there again
When the cars they once rode so majestically in are crushed
Only good as scrap metal now
When their names are expunged from the history books
Branded a curse, never to be mentioned again
We will fear not
God will understand
For they sat back and gave orders while their henchmen went out
To steal, to kill, to destroy whole families
They sat back fattening on the spoils of their destruction
While their fellow citizens starved to death
While innocent young children were malnourished
Denied the basic necessities of life
Robbed of their innocence
While diseases robbed the citizenry of their lives
While their soldiers chopped off limbs and dismembered whole villages and towns
Short sleeve or long sleeve
Women raped, the land desecrated
They sat back smoking fat Cuban cigars
Surrounded by friends, family, loved ones
While on the streets havoc and terror ran free
Blood flowed freely in the drains
Scavengers fed on bodies lying lifeless on the streets
As a woman wailed, beating her breasts for her children
She could not be consoled
They are no more
So when justice eventually catches up to them
And they beg for mercy
Plead for foreign powers to intervene
When exile becomes enticing to them
And they suddenly realize the value of a human life
We will laugh as their pleas for forgiveness fall on deaf ears
And we will not fear for our souls
For when we meet the maker
God will understand
