Hear them
By Brandon Astor Jones
haiku. An unrhymed Japanese lyric poem having a fixed 3-line, 17-syllable form [5-syllables in lines one and three, 7-syllables in line two.] — Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary.
As a small poetic memorial to all of the lives lost in the Oklahoma City bombing, the following compositions will focus on the children.
While each haiku tells its own story, as is proper, I thought a series of six collectively would tell what I think is the greater story, which is life's perpetual triumph over untimely death.
CHILDREN
Ah ... Oklahoma's
In our hearts and souls always,
There, live forever
CHILDREN: CANDY-LIFE
Finding emptiness
Alas, their parental cup(s)
Do not run over
CHILDREN GROW
To be adults true ...
Nevertheless, the child
Deep inside remains
CHILDREN LEARNING
Technology's road
Informative as it is
Can teach good and bad
CHILDREN ENDURING BYTES
Sometimes do not hurt
From incompatible software
Despite painful chunks
CHILDREN SPEAK TO BOMBERS:
Please turn off your screens
Let us ripen, not like you ...
We shall build anew!
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He is happy to receive letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G2-51, GD&CC, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA.]