Gunfire shatters the quiet
of the hot midday sun
Bullets flying in the air
their web of terror, spun

Into the ditch, she dived
books and all; dirt soiled
bony arms over one’s head
her body, in fear recoiled

Loud shots went on and on
it all seemed to last forever
when silence finally came
a host of feelings took over

The soldiers then motioned
their stance, rigid still
their guns, waving her on
held tight, in grips of steel

At bullet holes and marks
she looked, quickly observing
A scent she had come to know
her mind, painfully recalling

So toward her house, she ran
hoping in vain, for some relief,
as she will soon hear, she knew
those haunting cries of grief

yldara/m.stanphill 2408060958p

” On our knees then humbly pray
for our safety, thanksgiving
Hope and Faith, again renewed
and in God’s mercy, confiding “