Martyrs of Beslan

The day starts out like any
The sun shines warm and bright
Children with parents in tow
Bring gifts for their teachers
Dressed in their best
They come full of expectation
Excitement and joy on their faces
It is the first day of school
The last few days for some

Faces covered with ski masks
Wearing martyr's belts
Bearing Kalashnikovs and RPGs
They come with tidings of death
Fighting for freedom
Yearning for a land of their own
With nothing to loose
They came to die
Yelling God is great
Vengeance will be mine

In this struggle appointed by God
They are patriots of a revolution
Soldiers of a just and holy cause
They bleed for God
Knowing that in the end
Paradise will be their reward

By intention or accident it began
A loud dreadful sound is heard
Gunfire erupts and bombs explode
The slaughter of the innocents begin
Chaos and confusion reign
Limbs and bodies are thrown all around
The dead lie mutilated and bloodied
Like the culling of lambs they die
Blood spilled and life wasted
Sacrificed in someone else’s war

Like ghosts the survivors emerge
Men, women, and children
Almost naked and with fear in their eyes
Three days of starvation and thirst
Sweltering heat and constant terror
They survived a meeting with death
Mind and bodies scarred forever

In the aftermath
Day light comes
But the land lay black
They march carrying crosses
Bearing pictures of the dead
With tears and bowed heads
They walk with the dead
Sorrow and grief abound
No one is left untouched
Chests heavy with anger
Overflowing with hatred
They ask how could this happen
What have we done?
In their hearts is resolve
Today we mourn
Tomorrow we fight

The land lay a ghastly red
Night comes and darkness spreads
The reaper sharpens his blade
Grim is his task
There is more coming
The Devil smiles
My work is never done
It’s not the end
It only just begun