Children refused to be silenced,

thus parents discarded kid gloves,

to quell the noise.

The interaction was swift;

a few hundred rounds to hush pesky

enemies, under a convenient power failure.

When did defender turn

slayer in peace time?

How did begging for better governance

and an end to brutality become a

crime punishable by death?

Does an absence of bodies

delete a massacre, grammed live?

Can lies purify the tarmac,

and bleach a blood-stained flag?

Will hidden evidence restore heartbeat,

or shattered face, or future

ripped to shreds by state goons?

Sterile state speeches and fantastic

discoveries may hold sway, but will

drama douse the fire of revolution,

burning in resilient hearts?

When endurance is stretched beyond snapping,

will tactical erasure and veiled threats

yet suppress the people's will?

When the oppressed break those

chains and embrace anarchy,

will the centre yet hold?

When a bitch eats her young we seek a vet,

blame hunger, post-partum afflictions.

When a scoundrel country eats her youth

who will diagnose the ailment,

incise the vein-deep decay.