A Woman Stoned To Death Poem by Deva De Silva

Gasping for air, lungs drowning in fear
She’s drenched in anguished tears
Hidden behind a burka with peep holes
She sees the world fading in blurred eyes
Hands, arms bound tightly behind her back
Buried deep in a pit, man-made
Trembling from head to toe
She awaits her death alone
Far away from her homeland
Aching for her loved ones
Praying for another reality
Where she didn't have to depart
The dust rises up in air
As rocks hurled at her head, torso
Savagely and unjustly
Bounce off to lay forlorn
Bloodied, dispirited, and shamed
Piling up around her by the second
Paying no heed to blood-curdling pleas
Pouring out of her tortured body
The crazed feet shrieking blatant abuse
Swirling, twisting, and hurling
Dancing brazenly to her dying heartbeat
Running back and forth for more weapons
A feverish chanting fills the air
“In the name of God! ” “God is great! ”
Last words that she hears spat out with venom
To justify the sadistic, savagery against women
Now she lays unflinching, spent
With sporadic tremors, which follows
Yet, another shower of murderous rocks
The world deadpanned and mocked
Once she graced, a proud daughter of earth
Refined as the “male-entitlement” from birth
Defined as the guardian of “virtues”
Burdened with the cross of “purity”
Now, a mere blood-smear on sand
Through my tears, I shield her gently
Her tortured body held close to my heart
And whisper in her ears
“You are at peace now, at last! ”

Deva De Silva