The woman shouted "there are no more torpedoes!"
"What shall we do now," another cried.
On land, the shells were all gone, as well.
A slight panic settled in the soldier's throats
The fighting had grown to worldly proportions and
Production could no longer keep up with supply and demand
The ammo was gone, simple all gone…

In the distance a faint sound was heard
And as the soldiers leaned in
To hear the strange sound better
Through the hiss of the smoke
Through the cracking of the flames
Through the cries of pain
The sound became clearer
A little more distinct
Everyone now listened, they strained to hear
And as if the volume had been turned up
The sound became recognizable…
Laughter..? Cheering..? What was going on?
The soldiers' curiosity came over them
And as the phones began to ring
From the commanders and chiefs
The soldiers walked closer to the strange sound.

Finally, closer, their ears filled
And they could see
People, they were cheering, they were singing
They were dancing!
The soldiers felt a strange sensation
The people were happy.
What could this be about?
The fighting had been so constant for so long
It was the norm
This was the first silence in years
The first cease-fire since the killing began
The people cheered for the silence
The people cheered for the future
The people cheered for hope.
The soldiers perplexed
Their training was hard
None of them knew any life but.
They were an extension of the guns they fired
The world had become a killing zone
And they were caught in the middle
Until now, until the cheering
Until the happy faces filled their eyes
Until they saw that mankind although flawed
were the same, all of us, the same
We feel loss, we feel sadness
We feel happiness and we feel love.
The unity is in the core of what makes us human
The division is the exterior of our expression
As the soldiers and people realized this
and stood as one
A peace fell upon them
And for now, the silence would continue…
At least until there was more ammo delivered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Offer ends 10/1


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© Melt Magazine 2004