Only Six Feet Of Soil Poem by Artwell Masuku

Once people could roam
Free
Unbound
So noble and fair
They shared
Until scarred lines
That never fade
Denied people entry
Onto land that was
Theirs
Everyone’s………
The peace was shattered

With poisoning malice
And dissatisfaction
Wars were brewed
The corpses piled
Tears were shed
Creatures great and small
Withered into nothingness
Smothered by hungry
Fumes of perpetual greed

The lust was unstoppable
Greed was infected
Some wanted more……
More of everything
That belonged to anyone
Grass that I had seen green
Blackened
Flowers caressing the dew
Of rain wilted
Rivers of blood ran
Through the land
Whilst the heavens
Closed their doors

I stand naked
Humanity stripped away
Afraid to walk
Onto the soil that gave me birth
Wondered at all the killing
Done by man against man
What good will it profit him
For when he departs from this earth
He will only need a few
Planks of wood for a coffin
And only six feet of soil?