By Shobha Bhatnagar
Somewhere a bomb exploded, splintering the silence of the seven seas.
The earth trembled and pleaded,
while the sky shuddered and sighed-
the siren warning of impending doom.
A million lives are at stake.
That ominous mushroom cloud spiraled,
signaling the death knell for mankind
and the end of a beautiful planet.
Somewhere, I hear the whimper of an orphaned child.
Her mother is buried beneath the rubble of stones.
A wife, in the first flush of motherhood,
waiting for her soldier husband-who will never return.
Strange victory indeed for mankind:
Countries won, so barren and desolate.
Charred bodies and fragmented dreams,
shards of hope and uncertain fate.
No laughter of children, no bustle of life.
No dreams to weave, no hopes to foster.
Even the wind has ceased blowing,
and the sun has stopped shining...
If only wars could be fought to win the hearts of people-
to remove suffering, pain, and the ravages of disease,
to knit seamlessly all lands with the spirit of brotherhood...
If only...somewhere a bomb exploded, splintering the silence of the seven seas.