GREY SMOKE
How we so
fast forget!
How our
promises are so short-lived!
Don’t we
care any more_ how we've become detached robots thriving in selfish deals!
We tear
apart our social fabric in every single word, action or thought we convey!
We fight
with furry- filled destructive words and arrogant intentions!
We burn the
very cities we built with our own hands; the hands that once bled from the
toil!
We overthrow
the policies we for decades fought for!
We slay
our very own flesh!
Our paths
are blood- stained and twisted!
In exchange
for power and sovereignty we've stumbled on the very people we once depended!
We've invented toxic and lethal ways of doing things!
And certainly we've justified them to be the only “right” paths!
We absolutely
seem to have forgotten that…
Before
the fires prospered and scary noises escalated; there were families rising,
Before buildings
collapsed and towers fell; there were businesses expanding,
Before
cries emerged and burnt bodies fell; there were happy noises of children
playing,
Neighbourhoods
gathered and worked in harmony for the better good of all,
They
shared meals and dreams and planned future greater moments together,
They celebrated
their diversity in differences; there was always something new to learn,
Girls
and boys walked freely through the villages,
Before
families were crippled and disrupted; there were patriotic citizens building
the nation,
Before
our men were abused and tortured only to be killed later; there were women and
children who looked up to them,
Before
she was raped in the very eyes of her children; she was an industrious wife and mother,
Before
her husband was butchered in her watch; she was secure and both held the family
tightly,
And now
all she does is cry; if only mere water could clean this dirtiness... So she
wishes,
In a
minute after another, our lives were turned into a wreck; and we are all to
blame,
Yes we
are to blame for not speaking up; for not FIGHTING RIGHT!
We
joined our efforts for destruction…
I
remember that fateful morning as I walked through our kitchen, scared to death,
I peeped
through the rubble of our broken house’ windows, holding firmly my breath with
a leap of faith that I would survive,
I felt
nothing but darkness camouflaged in fear; in disbelief I watched black smoke coil
up the skies,
Disturbing
noises of people and young kids calling for help emerged through the thick soot,
“That’s
him; it’s him”, I shouted out loud after hearing my neighbour’s little boy
calling out from the soot,
Yes I recognized
his voice; he was choking_ his life literally flashed before my eyes!
And he called
nor cried no more! – Because he was no more while I should have done something
to help!
Guilt, anger
and rage consumed me!
A gloomy
cloud of malice engulfed us and within hours our efforts had been turned into
ashes,
I
watched as my watery palms changed into grey and my heart sank into deep sobs,
Under the
debris were bodies of our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and neighbours,
My
spirit cried out loud and I wished you knew how war feels like,
I wished
you could touch the grey smell, feel the pain as I stared at young- angry men
collect charred bodies behind them,
I wished
you could touch this smell in your nostrils every morning you woke up.
Property
was destroyed and towns perished; as I sat through the foul moments of our past,
I heard
no tribe, no clan nor personality because under that wrinkle everyone was grey,
Our
morals, our wealth and certainly our souls had crumbled!
And here
we are! Still struggling to rise up from our PAST!
And we
refuse to GO BACK THERE!
For we
have witnessed what violence, war and brutality can do!
And we cannot
ALLOW IT EVER AGAIN_ NEVER!
We now
speak up so YOU HEAR US…
Your
violence has done nothing but add to the list of street families and orphans,
Your war
has done nothing but add to the list of widows and widowers,
Your war
has done nothing but add to the list of thugs and hooligans,
Your war
has hindered us from achieving the very GOALS and AMBITIONS we set for
ourselves,
Even today, I still
cry…
It’s
been nine years and my friend is still searching for his father,
Your war
has contributed to the insecurity crisis we've found ourselves in today,
Your war
added to the list of girls and boys still waiting for their fathers/mothers to
come home,
And now
our children need A SAFER PLACE TO CALL HOME.
ONE
NATION, ONE PEOPLE!
Mwende
