Torture Song

By: Devorah Major

torture song
​
​listen

can’t you hear it pull 
the wires and plugs 
out of our ear sockets

can’t you feel it cut through 
our waxed delusions

a ragged scream 
pouring like hot oil 
inside and around
our blistering spirits
                                
someone is screaming 
right now 
at this moment

can’t  you 
hear the screams
coming from that man

the one who is
across the world 
and yet next door

his screams burn through
dark hooded thick walled
iron bolted citadels

and when he screams 
he is alone 

except for the one 
who beats him

shackled and alone

except for the one 
who watches him get beaten

tortured and alone

except for us
who can hear him 
underneath the news reports
in a corner of our memory
        
someone is screaming 
right now 
at this moment

we can hear him weeping 
and begging and praying

until he is stilled 
and another takes his place
and another joins in 
and another until 
the dissonant chords
of their knotted howl
begin to strangle us

or maybe it is not 
those screams we are hearing 
maybe it is a mother
screaming as  her son 
is dragged away from her

or maybe it is his children
their waking and sleeping hours both
wearing the same nightmare face

what I know for sure is
someone is screaming 
right now 

at this moment
some one is being 
tortured and reviled
in the name of a country
or in the name of a god
or in the name of you or me

someone is screaming 

and if it is not us
yelling back
calling out
if it is not you
if it is not me
screaming stop
screaming no more

screaming louder and louder
until we are heard
until we have stopped 
this torture song

who will be left 
to hear
to listen

i know you can hear it
we all can hear it

we can cover our ears
or turn the music up higher
but the screams will not go away
until we stop them

someone is screaming 
right now 
at this moment
hear them

Previously published in my book A Braccia Aperete/with arms open (Multimedia Edizione, Baronissi, Italy 2019). ​​

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Born and raised in California,  ​devorah major  served as San Francisco’s Third Poet Laureate (2002-2006). She has just returned from Italy where her sixth book of poetry with open arms was released in a bilingual edition.  A Willow Press Editors Choice her seventh book of poetry Califia’s Daughter will be published by Willow Press at the end of this year.  devorah major performs her work nationally and internationally with and without musicians. http://www.devorahmajor.com