a horror unleashed, yet safely hidden.
kept from her view.

she runs to the water, unnoticed, yet afraid.
there was beauty in each breath,
there was kindness in each touch; a land of sorrows.
a land of memories.
memories soon forgotten by-

a man who grabs her by the hand; harsh.
“You do not belong to this land.”

She lets go. . .

this land?
land of my fathers, land of my brothers,
land of my sisters and land of my mothers.
i cherished its carefree nature, and it cherished me.
i am befuddled and aghast. i am startled and amazed.
shocked. petrified. afraid.
speechless. yet so full of so few words but these--
this is not my land.
this is not your land.

“This land does not belong to you.”
But who does it belong to?
This land belongs to no one.
It is no one’s land.
You cannot take away what is not yours.
I cannot take back what was never mine.

But so long as you pollute my waters,
So you pollute your heart.
And that, I cannot take away. . .
I fear you already have.