Taken Away

My brothers were taken away,
My sisters as well.
They were taken away,
Far, far away,
Across oceans, seas, and continents.

Taken away from their home
To go fight a war that
Was not their own,
A war fought for rights
To the blackened blood of
Soil stained crimson,
Soil soaked in the blood of
People and animals.
Soil in which no life can flourish,
For the shadow of Death clings to
Even the most fleeting moments of happiness.

When I was younger
I would ask my parents
Where my siblings had gone.
They would shake their heads
And change the subject,
But even I could not miss the shadow
Of tears and sorrow.

Then one day as I was playing
Within the confines of our backyard
I stumbled upon
Three white crosses,
Growing like holy mushrooms
Under the purple butterfly bush,
Ringed with posies and marigolds.

Since then I sometimes return
To that secret and hallowed ground,
And since I first found those
Small white crosses
Two more have appeared.

When the fifth one appeared
I was thirteen
And something finally clicked
And I began to sob.
Of my three brothers,
And my two sisters,
None would be coming
Back.

My three brothers,
Each so different, and yet
Impossibly alike.
My two sisters,
The identical twins, alike in every way,
Except Merri liked Latin
And Dria liked Tibetan.

None are coming back from
That far and distant land.
They were killed in a war not their own.
They were killed far away from home,
Killed by bombs, shrapnel, missiles, bullets.
They died painfully,
In a land soaked by blood,
Blood of their enemies,
Blood of their friends,
Blood of their comrades,
Blood of their own veins.

They were killed in a war
That was never their own.
They saw such horrors while they fought,
They thought they would be home soon
Those five or so years ago.
And now they shall never return
Home.