Men of God, a Splash of Red

by Rob Sanders
_____

Do you remember the splash of red high and to the right?
Above our heads in the ravine?
We wanted to look,
Dreaded to look.

Hated to look.
The little girl, dead and desecrated?
Raped, pillaged, and beaten for her father’s faith?
Allah Akbar!

Her father’s side was not theirs.
Her father’s faith was not ours.
Her father would not play.
Her father could not pay.

“Men” of God found her.
“Men” of faith took her.“Men” of peace.
Allah Akbar!

Sand and blood make mud brown.
Ripped and torn,
Flailed and shorn,
Hair, skirt, and skin.

Is this God’s Will?
Is this the hand of Allah?
All in the name of Peace?
Allah Akbar!

________

This first appeared in The Havok Journal on February 27, 2015.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.