on this war ground i am
a war’s orphan
her world has sunk
into darkness
yesterday’s life
is ash today
fear keeps circling her
this is a mad war
three children
one mother
running
the railway station
two miles away
and before we get there
again
bombs
this is not a dream
but if we want to live
we know
we cannot let it win
small bags
on the children’s shoulders
she locks the door
and walks down the stairs
into a tomorrow
she cannot name
no phone
no electricity
bombs screaming
splitting houses
shops
streets
the children’s lives
one breath away
from danger
the last supplies
left behind as
last hopes
outside
trash, rubble,
death
the sky itself
the enemy
shops have folded in
some cars
still burning
the quiet companion
who used to breathe beside us
and show the way
is not here
the emptiness of home
is worse
for months
we held on to our last breaths
and dragged life along
ears that would not hear
eyes that would not see
what remained
was her big heart
slowly
we thinned out
we sank into helplessness
unable
to decide
I’m Manasa Reddy Chichili, a poet and short story writer from Hyderabad, Telangana. My haiku and tanka have been published in several journals such as Under the Basho, Mainichi Haiku, Awen, Atlantean Publishing among others. My longer poems have also been published on PoetryPotion, The Wise Owl and Neccheli. My haiku was nominated for the Touchstone Award (2025), and I have also dabbled in writing haikus directly in Japanese (in haikutown.jp).