Crucible

200 missing children - a symptom. (Form: Free Verse)

Crucible


Two-hundred tender blossoms
crushed by the cloven-hooves of evil.

The morning headline's clarion call
decries the horror;
  points the finger of blame
They fail to see this –
      not as an event
but as a continuing devolution
of humanity.

The fate to two-hundred distracts
so that the cries of thousands
can be ignored.

The world has become a crucible
and greed the fire
that triturates the dreams of the innocent.

When did our grasp on civilization
callous the tender hands
of compassion and understanding?

When did the common good
become uncommon?

The flames of hell
are testing our mettle.
How many tears will it take
to quell this raging inferno?

An entry for "Shadows and Light Poetry Contest" 
Written in response to: missing Nigerian school girls  

crucible ~ a severe, searching test or trial OR a vessel in which substances are heated to high temperatures
triturate ~ to reduce to fine particles or powder by rubbing, grinding, bruising, or the like.
mettle  ~ courage and fortitude