Can you hear the gunshots?
The bang of a bullet shooting through the air
to strike someone with a life,
a house,
a family.

Can you see the pain?
The endless torment of men being beaten,
women being *****,
children being shot.

Can you hear the bombs dropping?
the screams of innocent families trying,
fighting,
clawing for their lives.
As the battle rages.

Can you taste the blood?
The taste of innocent people who have died here without a cause,
without a single chance,
without a single goodbye.

Can you smell the dust?
The dirt that flies from the soldiers’ feet as they jump over the bodies.
The unidentified shells of humans who were just trying to live;
to survive.

Can you hear the prayers?
The sound of good men who value religion over their own life.
Who believe that there is a god somewhere who can save them,
as they are executed one by one.

Can you feel the suffering?
As you sit by and watch from a distance,
because you’re too scared,
too troubled,
too damaged,
to face the war.