BODIES THAT SHAME HUMANITY

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

An impromptu reaction to the massive group of charred bodies Funge Diffang posted on Facebook today.

Those bodies aren`t bullet-riddled
They`re charred
They`re lined up
Displayed
Exhibited
Paraded
Arranged, massed up, jumbled up, shuffled, and reshuffled like a Pack of cards
See how bare they are!
Naked
Unclad
Shamed
Humiliated
Betrayed objects of base value.


Yet they`re human
Even if
Silent
Mute
Uncomplaining
Acquiescent
Oblivious
They too are to someone, somewhere, some how
Husbands
Wives
Fathers
Mothers
Uncles and aunts
Grandparents
Sons and daughters .
Nephews and nieces


So, whose greed is it?
Whose shame?
Whose disgrace ?
Whose humiliation ?
Whose betrayal?
If not ours
We who still live and behold and ponder and contemplate and wonder
We who still have it all on our laps
Partners in crime
We live to be haunted for ever
By those sordid image
By those macabre images
By those
By this heinous crime
By this dastardly crime
Man`s inhumanity to man
It`s all so disgusting
So repelling
So repugnant
So low
So below-the-belt
So squalid
So foul
So grubby\
So chilly
So horrid
So ghastly
So grisly
So ghoulish
So gruesome
So grisly.

But we`re all guilty
We all have blood dripping
From our pens
From our mouths
From our ears
From our nostrils
From our private parts
From our breath
From our very being
From our space
From our world
From our very being.

When the time comes
The moment of atonement
We shall all give an account
All of all
Singly and collectively
We shall answer questions
Searching questions
Answer for ourselves and for them
Right or wrong
For we are responsible
We are also responsible
This world is one, global
And echo one of us
Is his brother`s keeper.

Copyright 2011