GREY SMOKE

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