Poem by Mekhala Saran
Cameraperson: Athar Rather
Editor: Rahul Sanpui
As Ukraine combats the Russian invasion, and civilians in the country fear for their lives, the devastating impact of war becomes evident. 'Ballad of Bawling Babies’ is a poem on war and what war does to us.
Valour is mute
So if war comes
It will not be the sound of honour,
Of sturdy men in sturdy boots
That you will hear
What you will hear,
However,
Will be a ballad of bawling babies
Broken, Ailing, Hungry
And when they'll look at you with their innocent eyes
And ask you if you know where their parents went
Will you tell them that they died
fighting a war for the country?
And when they'll ask you what is country
Will you show them the land
Rendered battered and barren by the acts of men
Will you show them sickness and smoke
The absolute dearth of hope
An economy so broke
A sea of orphans, no home?
When they ask you what is country
And what their parents died fighting for
Will you even be able to tell yourself
What it really is,
And who is not losing this war?
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