did Aleppo begin to die in 1981 like eye did

photo by AFP
August 2016

unseen knives 
Love once 
in the hearts of men 
and women everywhere 
you cannot feel it leave you 
as you breathe in ample maybe 
on this wintry December's day 
here in the US of A 
we have plenty 
not that we share with each other 
let alone the rest of the world 

there are always it seems many 
major players behind the scenes 
sayers and surveyors 
of where angels lie 
with their dirty faces 
wait weighting for demise 
knowing hubris is often 
a better weapon wielded  
against the self  
cloaked in the dying light 
of day time once 
when it was a 
we the people too 
thought that 
we could save the world
and now we can barely pay 
the bills on time 

there are stage crafty 
robber barons afoot 
each with different caches of loot 
ready to bargain their exit strategies 
proxy approximate 
to hide their we started 
wars scars 

I have only warred with myself  and
I have many places my soul 
has been burned 
and broken into 
pieces of me 
stolen away 
forever gone
with only a scar 
left behind to remind me ...

Jonestown, Atlanta child murders, Son of Sam, 
the air traffic controllers strike etc etc etc ...

all of these empty places 
inside me become tombstone towns 
though not in the dead light crown way 
like stars at night 
but rather like ghosts 
who don't know they're dead 
carried out into the light 
one last time 


EJR ©