Intro
War, impending war and exile forced by war, are increasing preoccupations in the work of Ladan Osman—not so much the wars, but the damage that they do to everyday people who are trying to live in this world. In “Sun to God”, these walking children and their parents, these laughing children and their parents, will eventually start to run, and will eventually stop laughing. It is a vividly captured accounting of the wars that continue to be waged around us.
By Ladan Osman
The children walked.
Then they began to run.
Why are we running, one asked?
No one knew. They ran faster.
They began laughing.
Why are we laughing?
Not one knew. They laughed more.
It was the eve of war but they didn’t know.
The children walked.
The children’s parents walked.
The parents’ parents walked.
Their shadows spilled ahead.
Their shadows lagged behind.
Then, they began to run.
No one was laughing.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2022 by Ladan Osman, “Sun to God” from The Rumpus, April 26, 2022. Poem reprinted by permission of the author and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2022 by The Poetry Foundation.
If you liked what you just read and want more of Our Brew, subscribe to get notified. Just enter your email below.
Related Posts
What the Child Cannot Learn From Books
Oct 24, 2024
Crafting Poems that Speak to Both You and Your Audience
Oct 01, 2024
Lush Life
Aug 20, 2024