While Waiting for the War to Stop

While waiting for the war to stop


Dedicated to the women and children who have struggled and perished in war, and to the peacemakers risking their lives to prevent or help others heal from the wounds of war.

I
While waiting for the war to stop she:
patched clothes, made gruel
sought refuge from the midday heat
played with the kids hide and seek while on the run
gathered wood, tried to find water
nursed her sister's baby and her own baby
and cried.

II
On the road
Dried hide in the dirt
Run over, walked over, baking in the sun
Leather that once was a child.

The second part of the poem is based on a story told to me by David Zarembka from Friends Peace Teams. He said that Alison Des Forges an expert on Rwanda (and who died in the Buffalo plane crash last year) said that she was called in to help after the genocide. When she stepped out of her car, she stepped onto a dried carcass that she recognized as the body of a very young child. This story is the genesis for the poem.