"The Child of War"
By
Zieba Shorish-Shamley
Dedicated to Afghan Children and all Other Children Whose Lives are shattered
by War
March 8, 1999
I am an orphaned girl. I am the child of war,
I am the child of misery, I have bleak star
My father died at war, my mother lost her life
Illness defeated her; she couldn’t beat the strive
My age is only ten; my sister is four
I must care for us; we are very poor
My fingers are frozen; they are cracked and blue
I search all the garbage, for food crumb or two
I live among the ruins, no shelter, heat or light
Fear, pangs of hunger, I hug my sister tight
It gets cold at night, no way to keep us warm
Rain and snow are menacing, winter’s cruel storm
No shoes, socks, or coat, my old shirt is torn
No warm clothes or bed, my old shawl is worn
I get very scared, at nights when it’s dark
I sing us a lullaby, to muffle dogs’ bark
The wind howls and whips, make me cry in fear
Worst is howl of men, who kill, stab and tear
I make myself small, my sister in my arm (s)
Hiding in a corner, to keep away the harm
Worried for my sister; she is sick and weak
No medicine for her, whose help should I seek?
I hold her in my arms, rocking to keep her calm
Cooling her hot forehead, with my frozen palm
My sister is crying, she asks for some bread
I tell her tomorrow, tomorrow I much dread
No food for tonight, neither for tomorrow
We are doomed to die, in destitute and sorrow
My sister is worse, she keeps toss and turn
She coughs very hard, like fire she does burn
She shivers like a willow, shaken by a storm
I hold her thin body, cannot make her warm
She calls for my mom, doesn’t know mom is dead
She wants me to take her, to mommy’s warm bed
I say mommy’s coming, try to make her sleep
My head hurts so hard, it’s making me weep
I did fall asleep, I had an awful dream
Playing in school, children laugh and scream
I heard a loud noise, the rocket hit the ground
I see smoke and dust, shrapnel fly around
Schoolyard is filled, with arms, legs and bodies
Injured cries of pain, so many headless bodies
I feel hurt all over, sharp pain in my knee
I think I am choking, cannot breath or see
My horrid dream changes, I see another scene
Death is all round me, Why is life so mean?
Bullets fall like rain, sky burns with fire
Bodies hang on poles, feet hang on the wire(s)
Soldiers beating people, with metal whips or chain(s)
Killing infants children, what is their sin?
More corpses on the ground, soldiers fire with gun(s)
Shooting women and young, elders as they run
Dawn is near I wake, it was not a dream
Bullets pour like rain, children do scream
They hanged corpse on poles, on wires hang feet
Nightmares does not end, it keeps on repeat
My sister cough is gone, she is very still
I touch her soft face, it feels icy, chill
I call her name loud, keep shaking her up
Oh God! Help me please! I cannot wake her up!
I will go back to sleep, holding my sister tight
It must be a dream, will end with morning light
The little one is not dead, she must be all right
Night is deceiving me, cause it is very dark
Inside of my own head, I have a lovely place
Birds sing, flowers grow, sun warms your face
Toys of different kinds, plenty food and milk,
We are warm and cozy, wearing softest silk
They cannot harm us here, we will play and sing
Seeing Mom and Dad, much love they will bring
We laugh and dance with joy, bare feet under star(s)
We don’t have to face, this ugly, violent war
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