it’s because of the war

that I could not speak

mouth full of blood

but it wasn’t mine

of innocent Palestinian children

it reeked

dear young

we’ve failed you

nailed you to the cross

buried you alive

most of us feeling no loss

some with absolutely no remorse

where’s the humanity

knowingly funding wars of insanity

history repeating itself

memories tucked in the back of the shelf

it’s because of the war

that I could not speak

so I turned to the books

articles and interviews

muslim, christian, jew

oceans of blood on all our hands

minimum humanitarian efforts

an abundance of weapons on command

teaching our children the right to kill

lacking education of human good will

it’s because of the war

that I could not speak

death toll the world around

near peak

Palestine, Yemen, Myanmar, Congo, Syria, Haiti, Libya, Ukraine

how much more can we sustain