it was a time of fever

 

 

it was a time of fever*

people bled from the eyes*

in the land of my youth

as the world watched

and discussed

what they should do

 

these vibrant people

everywhere they turned

death danced smiling

carrying a gun

or silently sneaking

in through the skin

 

girls went missing

stolen from school

taken as chattel

boys lay in the street

 dying in front of

the hospital door

 

it was a time of fever

 the snow fell

on my mountain home

as I watched

and wondered

what I could do

 

 

* taken from Roger Cohen's NY Times column

15 September 2014