Say A Prayer For Darfur (Revised) Poem by Mary Naylor

Say a Prayer for Darfur (Revised) (Warning for Mature Audience, violence depicted)

Darfur, yesterday,
Cozy, thatched huts,
Shining in the sun, nestled in the sand.

Darfur, yesterday,
Brightly-garbed, graceful women, friendly, strong men.
And the children…

The children,
Running and leaping,
Playing and laughing.

Today, a grinning skull
Hangs like the moon,
Over a gutted Darfur.

For Death came to Darfur,
Draped with murder and mayhem,
Wrapped in hate, lusting for power, land and oil…

Death came to Darfur,
On the backs of camels, driving trucks,
Wielding fire, sticks, bullets and bombs.

Today, behold, Darfur,
Burned, charred huts, starving children,
Dead bodies baking in the sun,

Untold numbers of women raped,
A tiny baby beaten to death,
Rumors of school children being burned alive!

Villagers locked in their huts and cremated, alive.
Children with noses cut off and eyes pulled out,
The village of Labado lies like an agonized, charred corpse.


Come, weep with me,
Pray with me,
For Death camps in Darfur!