confetti - A Spring during the War

by C. J. Anderson-Wu

A half burned family photo flutters in the wind
Which family members are missing ?

A song is brought back to life
when a trashed radio suddenly sings

Yellow blossoms of elder orchids burst like revenge
taking back the land once annexed by snow

Between bombardments
a mass is restored
Three priests pray for victims in turn
whose names are written in a long roll of paper
Who else was left out?

In brighter sunlight
shadows starkly manifest

Do we pray for the souls of invaders?
An old lady asks
The facial muscles of the bishop twitch a beat
The bell on the bombed tower unexpectedly rings
drowning out his response

Like an abandoned poem
the heavenly messages are torn