Tiny Body, Global Outcry Poem by Ajit Das

‘Daddy, please don’t let go of me’
gasped the toddler, Aylan,
clutching at his father’s fingers,

while being carried on board
in a tiny dinghy along with the family
in search of new haven across the sea.

They were escaping from war and terror –
rattle of gun shots, barrage of bombs,
shaking of the earth, endless hiding.

The smugglers overloaded the raft.
It flipped in high waves and capsized;
no life jackets – no fighting chance.

Aylan’s dead body washed ashore.
The city they tried to flee for a safe home
is now his grave – his refuge in death.