Nobody Cared For The Scourge * Poem by Niki Nicholas Nkuna

Two world wars rigged havoc to human lives
And any other thing that lived on earth and up the skies
Human casualties and deaths laid bare in our minds
We know of the planes that never returned
Those that were shot down and fell mercilessly
We know of the ships that were sunk
Those that blew and sunk mercilessly in the sea

Subsequent wars that ensue, the same
No mercy to the skies, the earth and the seas
Worst of all, nobody asked,
What happened to the animals?
What happened to the plants?
What happened to the insects?
Nobody cared for the scourge
But for things, territorial gain and dominance of the land, the seas and the skies
The count of lost human lives went as far as the beginning and the end of the war
Not the same for the innumerable plants and animals obliterated

Worst of all, nobody bothered to ask,
What happened to the birds in the skies?
What happened to the clean air, the breeze next to the perturbed seas?
What happened to the beautiful houses, the skyscrapers that threatened the skies no more?
Nobody cared for the scourge, but for human lives and inanimate things,
Territorial gain and dominance of the land, the seas and the skies
16 July 2013, NNkuna