by Virgilio Goncalves
 |
| A Taliban fighter walking past a beauty salon in Kabul on Wednesday.Credit: Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images via The New York Times, August 19, 2021 |
for 20 years, hope:
a hint of freedom
a trace of peace
a slither of choice
finally, for women,
possibility of education
opportunity to have a voice
chance to walk streets without fear
within 20 days, despair:
that hint of freedom incinerated
like burning books
that trace of peace throttled
like silent screams
that slither of choice sliced
like cut throats
amid
security intelligence
not worth a dime
and an avalanche of tears
never enough to drown foreboding
Virgilio Goncalves has been a journalist, teacher and tennis coach. He has a nomadic bent, having lived in various countries, including South Africa, Portugal and Australia. His poems and short stories have been published in Australian anthologies. Virgilio, as with other nomads, will forever be restless because his goal in life is to rid the world of misery.