The Sleep Walkers Poem by Akhtar Jawad

A sleep walker on the street,
He is wearing a thick jacket,
Something in his hands,
Is it a cell phone?
No, a device, a remote control,
Where is he going?
To the paradise,
To meet fairies,
In a garden of flowers,
And delicious fruits,
To drink the flavored milk,
From the canals,
A teen aged boy,
Presses the button
of the device,
His sleep is over,
He finds himself in the painful fire,
He regrets his sleep,
But is helpless now!

A mother is waiting
for his son,
Just two days ago,
A stranger came,
Gave her some money,
Sent by his son,
She is waiting for
the next remittance.

Another stranger,
Not with money,
With news that his son,
A suicide bomber,
Killed women and children,
And himself too,
All male members
of the family,
Were arrested for,
Further investigations,
The second installment,
For the ailing mother!

His old husband,
Who took his son,
To the place of cruelty,
Knew everything,
Was found guilty,
And sentenced,
With rigorous imprisonment,
Of several years,
The third installment,
For the ailing mother!

His sister was engaged,
To a cousin when she was a kid,
The engagement has been broken,
And the girl engaged to him,
When came to his mother,
She burst in tears,
Blood brought tears,
Here and there,
Yes, everywhere,
The fourth installment,
For the ailing mother!

Many more to come,
From the earth,
And,
From the skies!

How nice were the days,
When kids of the family,
Organized a sleepover,
It was a moonlit night,
In the large tall trees,
Hide and seek,
The street night cricket,
Marriage of the dolls,
Delicious foods,
Pretty folk songs,
Rubab mandolin of the east,
Smell of gun powder,
Polluted the water,
Polluted the air,
All beauty was lost!

Many more to lose,
In the black holes,
of terrorism?
Or the proxy wars!