The Will to Live

I will live… one more day
One more morsel I will eat
sorry bird, you are wasting time
for today I am not yours to dine

My mother is dead on the yonder
Her body, I see, blown to tatter
There are vultures feasting at her

But her last words ring in my ear

"Mustn’t look back, Must keep moving on
Keep moving on, To the gates of the town,
Never look back and never be still
Must survive with all your will"

Why were we -  thrown from homes
Why were fields burnt to ground
Wells and ponds poisoned and dried
My fathers and brothers thrown to the knife

Birdie, you will follow me, I know
Wait for this life to ebb out now
Not today you will have to wait
I will not give in to fate

I promised her, A promise to live

My life as an example I give
Of the travesties of man's greed

For thrones, crowns and shiny beads