A poem written after visiting a genocide site in Rwanda
July 2013
I saw the damage where the door had been blown open,
I saw the shrapnel where the grenades left their mark,
I saw the piles, so many piles of clothes,
I saw the bloodstains, and the dust and rubble,
I saw the flowers left to remember loved ones,
I saw the resting places of thousands of people,
I saw the rows and rows of broken skulls,
I saw the mounds and piles of bones,
I saw the coffins where so many now lay at rest.
And I wept,
I wept for Rwanda and her people,
I wept for the past, the devastation and pain,
I wept for the thousands who sought sanctuary and found death,
I wept for the men, the women and the children,
I wept for a nation that saw so much death,
I wept for those who suffered such brutal ends,
And those they left behind,
I wept for Rwanda and her people.
I was told to listen,
I heard children playing in the streets,
I heard joy and laughter,
I heard faith and happiness,
Now I see a people rebuilding,
I see them rebuilding homes, lives, relationships and families,
I see a nation healing but not forgetting,
I see a people remembering but looking forward,
Above all I see God and I see His hope,
I see a future for Rwanda and her people,
I see light, peace and love.