“It’s not a matter of whether Russia waging war on the Ukraine is politically motivated. It is simply a matter of good versus evil.…” writes Charlotte Cohen from South Africa. Distraught, anguished, frustrated and questioning the direction of humanity at what is monstrously unfolding in Ukraine, the poet weighs in on the horrific repercussions for all mankind when the reigns of leadership are held by those with unbridled evil intent.
(David. E. Kaplan. Lay of the Land editor)
By Charlotte Cohen
The world needs an alien invasion
By unknown creatures from outer space
For us to know that despite our differences
We’re all part of the human race
That whatever our upbringing or culture
Or language or colour of skin
Our DNA is snipped from the self-same strip
We are all family. We are all kin
But there are some who demand deference
And command subservience to domination
Who compel control and impel their will
By executing destruction and ruination
Without respect for life, we’ll demolish and kill
We’ll strike again and again and again
Till we blow up the planet and everything that’s in it
Only then will we cease – only then ….
But then, annihilated and eliminated
It will finally be too late
A once-inhabited planet extinguished
No edifice left to hate
No more man-made hell on earth
Just vacuous, numbing peace
No consciousness, no living thing
No day begins; nor will it cease
And when we are knocked into nothingness
Our demise won’t dent the sky
When our planet finally perishes
No angel will blink an eye
In the timeless stillness of no future or no past
Will these tyrants hang in shame?
Will these demonic maniacs be accountable –
The diabolic madmen who were to blame?
But all spirit is regained and retained
And the aberration of each fanatic weighed
And for those whose delusions destroy life itself
An undreamed-of debt remains to be paid.
About the writer:
Charlotte Cohen writes in diverse genres – inspirational articles, poetry, memoirs, short stories and political commentary. A recipient of several literary and poetry awards that include: The first South African three-time winner of English Association’s annual writing competition; Winner of the Gitlin Library’s 25th anniversary short-story writing competition; National award for a book on Drug and Alcohol Abuse; 1st prize: Old Mutual’s ‘Siyakula’ Poetry competition; Winner of West Coast Writers Poetry and Writing competitions 2013 and 2015. Her articles and poetry have been published in ‘Jewish Affairs’ since 2006 and her poetry has been recited at Jewish Literary Festivals.
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