And People Wandered Aimlessly

“But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially.”
- Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms


And People Wandered Aimlessly

I dreamt I scaled a castle wall
and stood upon a pointed spire
In black and white I saw a world
of souls ablaze in funeral pyres

Entangled trees of smoky grays
that knelt in grief for death of peace
And people wandering aimlessly
uncertain how to make war cease

Crumbled cities powdery white
smoldering in a dusty glow
And people wandering aimlessly
unsure of where they were to go

Along the shore the sand was black
where fishes’ bones like headstones lay
And people wandering aimlessly
feared they would never find their way

Maimed children clung to bloody skirts
and wept in dying mothers’ arms
And people wandering aimlessly
hoped to elude incoming bombs

Snared sun,  and moon,  and stars
were lynched
upon a low and darkened sky
And people wandered aimlessly
resigned they too were soon to die