War Torn

Beware they tell you
upon entering a war torn country
it is twisted and strange
not to mention the twisted braids of bodies
knotted to each other like bits of bloody ribbon tied together
and the strange silence of the afflicted
who look at you tranquilly as their arm dangles by its veins
but I acquainted myself with disbelief
for I saw thin, but alive children tussling among the sands
stark feet smacking the land like heartbeats
chasing after a ball of some sort in play
dust and earth rising in clouds around their dancing bodies
as dirt caked their cheeks like war stripes
I made my way to a small child who was about to kick the object to a goal
and thought that the tragedy of civil war was nothing but a false front
but my taste of conflict turned out to be as small
as the children's bones which clacked together like bells when they ran
for when I looked down at the feet of the children
their feet were saturated with strange things such as blood
one child's foot pressed on top of a severed limb
like one would do to a ball so it wouldn't roll away
and he looked up at me and innocently asked,
"Wanna play?"

-anna sluder

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