The sky fell on Lebanon and reduced her to a rubble.

And so the sky fell;

The sky fell on Lebanon

And brought her untold hardships and miseries,

Killing and maiming thousands

With blood of its children gushing out

Like the Victoria Falls

And flooding the streets.

And so the sky fell;

The sky fell on Lebanon

Reducing her cedars and poplars to shrubs

And turning her into a vast wasteland –

Thirsty and weary.

And so the sky fell;

The sky fell on Lebanon

With Israel overrunning her with its mighty Force

Pounding and bombarding her to shreds

And turning Lebanese to refugees overnight

With thousands fleeing their homes in a mass exodus.

And so the sky fell *spewing out babies

Prematurely out of their mothers’ wombs with many children

Suddenly finding themselves in hospitals

Because of injuries sustained in a war they knew nothing about

And so the sky fell;

The sky fell on Lebanon provoking constant flashes of lightning

And a great thunder blast which left many craters

And deep holes on her roads and heart.

And so the sky fell;

The sky fell on Lebanon, drawing the ire of the world

With Kofi squeaking like an ensnared mouse, while Israel

Continued to bombard Lebanon mercilessly

As diplomacy is scorned by the White House and Downing Street

Leaving the world to howl “immediate cease fire” etcetera

Finally, the sky fell;

The sky fell on Lebanon reducing her once again to ashes!

• JOHN ODEY ADUMA, AUGUST 3, 2006.