Direct Hit

We stood by the crater
where the missile had landed
Smoke still rose from the rubble
and the eerie silence between sirens
felt as thick as the dust in our throats
And just when we thought
no living thing
could survive such madness
the faintest of cries offered hope
We were frantic then
bare hands
tearing a path to life
A baby boy saved
rescued to grow up
orphaned and alone
the birth of hatred
hard wired in his soul