Who Knew?

Who knew

It was a news story much like any other,
Of people far away killing one another,
People most of us never really know,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
But for me this one was a little different,
For this one I paused one brief moment.
I looked at the picture of the man they slew,
A man no-one ever really knew.

He had taken two bullets to his head,
Those had sent him to his final resting bed,
Yet no-one really knew that he was a father,
Or that he had a ageing mother,
He had at some point cried,
Then at another he had smiled,
Those who cared are really few,
Of this man, I wondered, who knew?

Before he died he had looked forward to tomorrow,
Even though his life was plagued with sorrow,
He had helped his neighbor paint his house,
He’d also protected his daughter from a mouse,
Now he’s just another dead man,
Killed by warriors because they can,
Maybe his death had saved one or two,
Who knew?

Never before had I cared for a death far away,
But things are different today,
The man was from Palestine or thereabout,
I cared enough to find out,
He left his family without a father,
Never again to be together,
He was also a doctor to many not few,
But then again, who knew?