And the women waited

Disbelief etched on faces; they watched and waited.
Time held its breath. Some lit a cigarette.
They all stood. Eyes transfixed.

Their strength wilted, as one by one the bodies
of the children were pulled from the wreckage.
A terrible pain embraced the people of Aberfan

The screams they said, could be heard for miles.
No tears could be held back. The valley’s cried.
The children of Aberfan were gone.

That day, was to test their strength.
Their courage. Their very souls.
Along with all the others that came after.

It was to test their very existence.
Of what it means to suffer.
Of what it means to be human.