apathy stalks the land

they would have gone through
the whole process of repeating themselves
were it not for the silent ones
who had shot themselves in the head.
they were few, they who had martyred
themselves, they who were the minority
entrenched deep within the majority.

one had hostaged a bus full of schoolchildren
with real guns and fake grenades
all the while being praised
by the kids' grandmothers.
some are the best fighters of the sovereign,
now languishing in jails for pointing out
the wrongs, the mistakes, the glaring

injustices. Injustices, unbelievably in
the plural form.

Apathy stalks the land
is an understatement.
Darkness is bound to shroud
this land both blessed and cursed
with riches and a short memory.