Metal birds, all lines up
Casting shadows on the chipped cement
Threatening, hovering, waiting
For their chance to fly
To strike, to kill

A young man with boyish features
Stands with a gun in his hands
As the women pray to a hard, silent wall
For the safety of their loved ones
And their hopeful return home

Fires glow on the horizon
And smoke curls to the heavens above
The flames licking at all they find
Raging and shooting for the sky
As if demanding the smoke not to leave them behind

Empty cars strewn about
Like broken, discarded toys
War machines at the ready
Blending in with all around them

What once was
Is no more
In the devastation of war