Freedom’s night

Freedom’s night pulses with crowd

Marigold flashes on indigo sky

Childrens’ waves and delight.

 

Pavement seeps blood

Bodies fly

Screams of exodus

Pounding on doors

Wild-eyed.

 

A boy tended by a mother

Fed, dressed, educated.

Crucial elements missing—

empathy and tolerance.

 

These boys rise into men,

tainted stalks, 

numb implements of hate.