Silence

“We went down into the silent garden. Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence. Everything is transfixed, only the light moves.”
― Leonora Carrington

His mind was confused, and he was so tired. Is it meal time , shall I get up and eat. But wave after wave of fatigue ate at him and he had no desire to move. He heard noises all around but the sounds were making his head hurt. He kept his eyes closed and tried to block out the sounds. After a while he succeeded. He embraced the silence and in return the silence enfolded him and held him close. He saw a dove ascending in a clear sky,  carried by the wind,  towards heaven. He saw himself enfolded in a cocoon of clouds, waiting, marking time before his transformation. He drifted off into endless slumber.

The doctor reached down and closed the eyes of his shrunken body.

“How old was he”

“He was ten years doctor, but sick for a long time. His family came in this morning. They were from a tiny village. A twelve mile walk. They carried him all the way.”

“Only ten and so small and shrunken. He looks like a five year old. How many more like him”

” He is the eighth to die to-day doctor. The families have no food. It’s the war you know”

The doctor shook his head and cried inwardly. His first day volunteering for Doctors Without Borders and he felt so helpless. He had no food only medicines. What they needed was food………. and the war to end.

The war in Yemen has been ongoing for three years. 2.2 million children are suffering from malnutrition and 85,000 children under the age of five have died.

Just another statistic in a world of seven billion people.

These words were inspired by /janedougherty.wordpress.com. Writing at Jane Dougherty writes. She wrote a poem on this subject “Why are the babies dying”.