Armageddon

The dog, Sasha, confused

and cowering sniffs the soldier’s hand,

mewling for its owner.

A stuffed toy lies in the debris

which was once a home.

Bodies strewn like rag dolls

bloated in greening rains.

Entombed women, children

gasping prayers

under weighted rubble.

Endless bombardment,

endless destruction.

Hospitals, schools, universities, libraries,

supermarkets, parks, destroyed.

I witness all this,

impotent,

disabled,

incapacitated and fatigued.

Is this civilization in the 21st century?

Meanwhile, the suit and tie beast

berates his minions,

who sheepishly kiss the anchor

of his sinking state.

If God be our witness,

may there be found

a lightning charge of justice

levied upon a soulless,

mad despot,

quivering in his dreaded darkness.

– Burt Baldwin, Ignacio