The Orchard
A face forlorn, resigned, but a flicker of hope
Refugee seeking refuge from winter’s cold
And searing summer heat
Set adrift on unknown streets
Cast into a future unseen unwanted
Far from those orchards of memory
Closed eyes to memories that stay
Torn from a land where childhood dreams played
In the warmth of a spring morning
Where the smell of orchards ripe mixed with spice and laughter
Spilling from every kitchen…
And joy, love and happiness perfumed the air
Until
Torn from a land of beauty and trust
Thrust into violence that broke homes and bones
Discarded and thrown from your whole world
Destruction writ in every hate filled scream and face
That erased the grace and tranquillity
Of those sun kissed orchards of memory
And now
The orchards lay split splintered
The fruit of man’s toil rotten soiled
Replaced by the fruits of man’s hatred and greed
Power that replaced the seed
Seed that no longer grows orange, lemon or pomegranate
Seed that is blown and scattered with bomb and grenade
Far from those orchards that burst with life
And now…and now
Torn from a home wrapped in love
An unknown fate awaited
In unstable boat, wrapped against the cold
Wrapped up against the world
And all they have and all they have lost
Fatalistic accepting yet uncertain
If they should ever set foot to dry land again
And whether in those northern lands
The orchards grow too
A flicker of a smile
Sunken eyes and wearied lines of a face
That has seen too much
And wants nothing more
Than to be at home
But home has gone
Perhaps the chance those seeds blown
Will one day grow again
Far from those orchards of memory
Photo from Pinterest
