While We Watched, They Died Poem by Francis Enejoh Abraham

WHILE WE WATCHED,
THEY DIED.

Evil gathered like bees on wild nectar,
Causing destruction as of a pestilence
Reducing human life to nothing at a canter
Still, no word from those who should, a naked silence.

What started like an accident is now a blitzkrieg,
Benue, Zamfara, Plateau, Kaduna are hotbeds.
An inferno of bloodlust is consuming our country,
Beasts from hell broke loose and found home in our land.

Our sense of outraged is drowned in petty sentiments,
A clear indication of how we value human life.
If he doesn't share my beliefs, he is on his own,
A banality of evil that send chills to the bone.

Affirmation is what we give by doing nothing.
We stand aloof because "ours are not affected"
The blame must be for us all for being mute,
For guilt finds expression both in action and inaction.

Our neighbour's house is on fire yet, we sit unconcerned,
It will never get to me, we naively discerned.
Death brought to a single soul diminishes humanity,
For our collective is threatened by an attack on our individuality.

For how long shall this continue?
A man who's house is ablaze never goes to sleep.
We must rise up to put out this carnage
Because power in unity is more than an adage.

#FrankTalk