"Five to six men would rape us, one after the other, for hours during six days, every night. My husband could not forgive me after this, he disowned me."
Sudanese refugee woman- Darfur 2004
What?
Have we all gone mad?
Have we lost our humanity?
When does a husband not comfort
His wife in such insanity?
Where is the safe harbour
When blood runs like rivers
What are these stone hearts
That makes good people shiver
In sadness, so desperate,
In whose blood thirsty name
That makes us all wonder
There's no end to this pain
Through a sea of misery
Of the butchered and raped
When it all happens again
And we all see it too late
But there they will starve
Be tortured and maimed
In the death camps of Darfur
Man is going insane
Author notes
And it is still happening
Written July 30th, 2004
A contest entry
- Ashamed to be Human - Collection Point II by Death of the Author.
450 points, ended September 15, 2008, 10 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 25 of 25
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An old one I see, yet still extremely relevent.
On the content side, I cannot complain, you have put forth your case and no one can doubt your conviction. However, on the poetry side...this is quite simple...I didn't much like the rhyme and the flow was lacking a little bit. I just feel that it could have been written with a bit more skill. And seeing as this was written almost exactly 4 years ago, maybe you could invest that extra 4 years experience back into it, to round off the poetry while keeping the message. Thanks for your entry.
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This is a powerful heart-felt entry. Thank you so much for entering. Good luck in the contest.
John
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good job. i could feel the emotion and i agree that the husband should have been a comforter in his wife's time of need. sometimes the male ego gets in the way of love. this is a good write but i'm afraid that you didn't follow directions...
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Great point, but I would argue that men always were insane. Cruelty has always been one of our main defining characteristics. Congrats on the silver.
Mark -
An absolutely beautiful poem! It was so amazing and true! I lvoed it, congradulations on the tropy
~Rhea~ -
This sort of thing is so ugly,we tend to turn a blind eye. Until we are totally shamed by media.Again, I've always seen shame work best against pain.~~~Suseann
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it will always happen. because there will always be some ignorant son a bitch who says " what was she wearing? " or something equally as ignorant. well penned. was worth the read. good luck in the contest.
Blu
Edited on Apr 22, 8:57 because ''. -
Horribly honest. What is the world coming to when we will not even comfort those who are hurt and we "love"? This has to be the saddest, and most honest, portrayl of real life I have read in a long while. Great job, keep writing.
-Emily
ps-good luck in the contest -
It's hard to believe that this kind of thing goes on. Sometimes it takes a brutally honest writer to make us see beyond our front yards.
Edited on Apr 22, 8:47 because 'typo'. -
i really like this, it makes people stop and think...your a great writer
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Very well written
Very sad, so sad and it made my heart heavy with sorrows and pain reading this one.
The poem speaks of reality and truth. It is so well written that tears are falling down on my face because I am so moved and I feel it.
Thank you for sharing a very well written, heartfelt poem of yours. -
Bearably great>>>>> mood subdued
The camps go on and in safe silence we bow our heads
to pray our pray of thank you, it isn't us today
And what of our own camps we call them city streets
in the name of freedom our hands are tied, and so is our speech
If you don't like it turn away, a child is raped instead
The rapist has the right, as long as she's not dead
the camps are everywhere you know, call them what you will
None are safe in God's name, til none are left to kill.
But worry not of this earth for this pain shall not last
Rapists of women and children will know justice when they pass.
Behold you who do your worst and claim God's Holy Name
In the Valley of the Shadow is a cot that bears your name
Edited on Apr 22, 4:49 because 'messed up line'. -
Hmmm... I feel as though I need a bit of a history lesson before reading this, so a little something at the bottom to help us not so history conscience people understand might be great- ha, ha.
Otherwise great job, love how you made it personal, instead of relating this to society you brought it down to its impact on one family with the husband and wife aspect. All the blood and desperation in this poem might also deserve some harty emotional concent- like specific words!!! Awesome though!!!
Way to be,
Tara -
Thought provoking
Wow....what an awesome poem...very dark and sad but you wrote it beautifully. This is a sad fact of life as we know it today..man IS going insane against one another..not only in this way but in many other as well..We all are guilty for at one time not bothering to take notice to the things that go on around us..content in our own little world...till something "hits home" then thats when we tend to get involved...Is that the way we are supposed to be? loved your lines:
What are these stone hearts
That makes good people shiver
In sadness, so desperate,
In whose blood thirsty name
That makes us all wonder
There's no end to this pain
Through a sea of misery
Of the butchered and raped
When it all happens again
And we all see it too late
Very powerful write..many applause to you and great job!
-Amy
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the subject is shocking!! really shocking ..and this is an excellent piece of poetry ..keep it up
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I think mankind is well past the going phase of insane. Nice work!
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wow..this is very moving and emotional..and true. it was really great..a tough subject to write about but very well written and the mood was excellent. great job and good luck <3
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Wow. Amazing write. This touched me. This is deffinatly a consideration for the trophies. This touched me in a place not many of these poems have. THanks for entering and good luck.
~LISAPISA~ -
The views of husbands there are much different than here. Not that American husbands are always great or that being in another culture is an excuse. Things like this are happening (and always have happened) and we can't escape the evil of it. Many of us are being forced to rethink what we thought was the basic goodness of human nature.
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excellent
Man's inhumanity to man (or woman) sad reflection of life .
Good honest expression of truth. -
Man IS going insane. Sad poem... but good. I liked it.... You did a great job...... Keep writing.... And good use of emotion. Writing always help.... Or at least, I think it does. Well, laters.
~Lost~ -
this is so sad! I can't believe the husband would disown the wife. That's just horrible. You captured the emotion very well in your poem! Great write!
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"When blood runs like rivers" Wow. Haunting and beautiful. The quote really stuck w/ me
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I followed the plight of Ugandans since I was a little girl .. horrified by stories in the newspapers. Atrocities in Africa seem to go unoticed .. no oil I suppose. Heartbreaking.
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wow... this is very good... certainly gives an accurate picture of our world today... sad, isn't it? good job
~*~Ashley~*~
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