Ashes Between Horizons Poem by Natasa To

The sky remembers every flame,
Though maps forget each borrowed name.
From desert winds to restless seas,
War bends the strongest to their knees.

Iron birds divide the night,
Trading shadows, fire, and fright.
Each echo crossing distant lands
Leaves broken dreams in empty hands.

A mother waits beside the door,
Counting footsteps—nothing more.
A father folds a faded prayer,
Hoping someone, somewhere, cares.

Flags may rise and speeches soar,
Yet silence settles after war.
For victory wears a fragile crown
When cities burn and hearts fall down.

May wisdom speak before the guns,
Before another setting sun.
For peace is not the weaker way—
It is the courage still to stay.

And when the smoke at last is gone,
May children greet a gentler dawn,
Where hope, not hatred, writes the page,
And love outlives another age.