WordsOut poems by Godfrey Rust  | collection Welcome To The Real World ← 2 of 59 → | home      

Out of Eden

The shores of Lake Victoria
are beautiful, but red.
The birth of human being
happened hereabouts, it’s said. 

Rwanda’s latest harvest
is laid neatly out in rows—
blood’s thicker than water,
as everyone now knows. 

Someone fired the pistol
and no-one holds the ring—
the hounds of hell are playing,
the party’s in full swing. 

Neighbour turns to neighbour,
Abel turns to Cain.
It’s the old familiar story
out of Eden once again— 

it’s the lesson unforgotten,                     
the elemental part:
prayers can move the spirit
but machêtes touch the heart.

After the Rwandan genocide of 1994.