The Black Sky Over Gaza Poem by Matloob Bokhari

**The Black Sky Over Gaza**
Matloob Bokhari
Country: Pakistan
O Master of Life,
You blessed man with abundance,
Gave him lands to hunt in,
Streams to fish in,
Minerals stored in the bowels of the earth,
Rays of sunshine, rain, and clouds.
O Master of Life,
I have read human history, red with blood, bitter with hate.
I have read human history, stained with cruelties.
I have read that he who was created out of dust is destroying the earth,
And hate in him is not dying with the killing of men.
O Master of Life,
I am weary of the quarrels of men.
I am weary of men's wars and bloodshed.
I am weary of men's prayers for vengeance.
O Master of Life,
My heart has been shattered into a million pieces,
Hearing the screams of a baby buried in the rubble of Gaza.
My soul cries to see the missing pieces of a dead baby's body.
Even the barbarians of the Dark Ages weep
Over this hardest and darkest tragedy of mankind—
This wanton killing of innocent babies in Gaza.