Sometimes they frighten us
tap us at midnight on the shoulder
bring nightmares to our sleep

Dead warriors rising from the battlefield
grave their faces hollow eyes seeing nothing
open mouths flapping soundless

Sometimes they bring life to us
sometimes they keep it at bay
forcing us to move away from what
we know and love and to face life
unmasked in an unfamiliar way

Exile

a black-robed devil wielded a whip of wind
with a sea wave for a hammer he broke down our houses
drove us from our fields and struck down our temples

dark was the sky rage
deep was its anger
the sea god rose on stormy wings
his chariot was taller than our tallest house

who will wade in this river of mud?
who will ask for a blessing
now the sky has fallen?

homeless helpless
we seek our living abroad

beyond our hills:
a land where no man speaks our language
and every man’s hand is turned against us