A Nation Amputated

(A Poem-a-Day, part of:
A Song (re)Cycle: Of Rage & Defiance; Of Grief; and Of Hope.
Part 1: Of Rage & Defiance)

(Originally written for May Chidiac, but now--unfortunately--to so many more.)

Today, we all lost an arm and a leg.
Today, from a distance, I cry a nation assassinated.
Today, I conjure a tingle in ghost limbs,
A word stuck under my skin,
A moan, a whimper.
Today, I pity my nation like I couldn't pity myself,
For today I love my nation like I couldn't love myself.
Today, in still images, I saw a dark horizon;
In torn metal, a stifled smile.
Pixelated and faded, a smile now contorted.

But silence,
You shall have none of it.
Rest
Shall elude you in your sleep.
And they will haunt you
Like slighted gods,
Like echoes of a scream.

We shall be your Medusa.
We'll grow a thousand words
For every tongue you trim;
We'll sprout a million songs
For every throat you choke.
And we shall rise,
Like your worst nightmare,
As if from a dream.