Shattered Dreams

The boy is hard in his mother's hand,
his dark brown eyes, staring with amazement at the crowd, lights of joy,
as they walked around the beautiful streets of Mogadishu's.
Colors, parades, music, flags, happy people jumping, dancing, singing.
He can't help but jump to himself and humming a few lines of the Somali national anthem.
The boy stops and looks down, there is a small blue flag with a star in the middle.
The boy bent down, raised the flag.
He studies it carefully, waving a bit.
Gently spread a smile on his round face.
Extends his arm high into the sky and screams ...

- Somalia, my country, my home forever!

The man stops, looks around, his eyes closed ,tries to remember.
Quickly he opened his eyes looking around again. Sighs.
The once beautiful city has become ugly.
Ugly of its misery,ugly of it's own people, ugly buildings lying in ruins, ugly of human selfishness.
Gray.
The man continues, and wanders on.
Kicking it lightly against the empty casings lying scattered on the streets of Mogadishu.
He stops taking a deep breath and looks down.
He looks at a little torn flag with a star in the middle, he remembers.
He took up the flag, blowing away the brown dust until the bright blue color looks up,
he discovers that the flag is divided in the middle.
He sighs again.
Once long ago he stood on the same street, with eyes that shone with joy,
the same eyes that now stared at the tattered flag,
The flag falls to the ground.
Shattered dreams.
The man walks forward while he quietly mumbles the few words ...

- Somalia, my country, my home forever!

Zana H Hashi
Copyright © 2009