Whom Shall I Mourn

Whom shall I mourn
With this aching heart

My brothers
Sisters, mothers and their children
The weak, the poor —
Caged
Beaten

Whom shall I blame
For horrors
Tears
Soul-wrenching grief
Blood-boiling rage
Whom shall I burn —

Myself

But I’m already ash —
Still
A heart beats
Tears flood, sometimes
And fire
Still burns

Maybe I’m not ash —
Not yet

So I mourn
I remember
I burn
I flood

The cities
The countries —
Where flags still rise
On towers
High above

Nothing is amiss, I see
Even as tyrants roam
The weak cry out
The masses shake
The smart ones numb
And fools wear chains

I know, I know

But here—
A heart
Like an ember aglow
That keeps the blood
Warm
And flowing

And there —
The world
A block of ice
A glacier

Do I keep this heart
Within
Or cast it out
See if it burns —
Melts
Even a sliver of ice

Though I know
I know —
Nothing’s amiss

O God
In this forgotten
World of yours