Paper, Pencil and Eraser

Lines on paper
For access, control and profit
Drawn without care
     Understanding 
     Or local consent

Annex. As a verb 
     For being swallowed by geopolitics
     To divide, consume and impose
     To be apart from 
           Lived versus legal geography

Almost eighty years of Radcliffe (1947)
Over a century since 
     The Berlin Conference (1884)
     Durand (1893)
     Sykes-Picot (1916)

We inherit the damage
From decisions we didn't make
Of lines drawn on paper
For access, control and profit

Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay

© 2025 Samantha Williams. All Rights Reserved.