* * *

The Treaty of Versailles haunted her mind, 

A constant reminder of what’s at stake.

She stared at her notes, key words underlined,

Sleepless nights when she lay there wide awake.

The weight of the past pressed cold on her chest,

Ink-stained fingers tracing each clause with dread—

Could history heal, or repeat unrest?

Whispers of war still hissed inside her head.

The diplomats’ voices, so sharp, so vain,

Had carved up the world with their pens like knives,

Planting the seeds of old hatreds again—

Would vengeance take root in the people’s lives?

O nations beware of the chains you break,

For peace built on ashes may yet tremble and shake

                                                                   By Alba