Yazidi Refugee Poem by Barry Middleton

when their grief has no more tears
an empty stare contains their fears

yesterday their home was burned
every prayer and pleading spurned

the cruel beasts of war destroy
and murder innocence and joy

faith and hope and love deserted
where every value is perverted

as death and rape and pillage rise
in fire and smoke their village dies

they struggle toward a foreign land
across the sterile barren sand

they pause beneath an olive tree
to thank their God that they are free