Blood Poem by BASAB CHAUDHURI

At this moment
bombs are exploding,
smoke billows outward,
people hide indoors,
fear moves through walls.

Friends — my friends —
how will you ever know
what burns within my chest?

So much firepower,
so many jets and planes,
so many ships waiting,
ready to pump fire into flesh.

This is man to man.
Those who suffer —
only they know.

Does it move us?
Do we feel?
Do we soak ourselves in their tears?

Justifications for and against,
narratives for and against,
speeches for and against,
graves for and against.

Explanations layered on explanations.

This is the essence:
we can never be one.
We will never be one.
Our inherited blood does not let us.

So death.
More death.
More and more.

Rejoicing on blood.
Rejoinder on blood.
Memorandum on blood.
Truce on blood.
Terror on blood.

It does not end.

Blood.
Blood.
Blood.