Sunrise, Sunset

how war can change a place in a single day

Sunrise, Sunset
by L. S. Leader


Sunrise over a peaceful valley,
The grass is green and strewn with flowers.
Birdsong rings from the trees.

We must be safe.
We must be free.
Our only chance
To kill them first.

The people rise in fear and join the fight,
Spending freely the lives of both sides.

Sunset falls over the valley.
The red mud underfoot
Churned from trampled bits of plants and soil
Liberally mixed with blood.
The only sounds are the moans of the wounded
Waiting for succor or death.

Sunrise, sunset.
So little time it takes
To make slice of heaven
A view of hell.