Children In War

You do not hear the sounds of happy children in war
There are no games to play
Nor are there other children to play with
Even if there was ever a safe place to play

Any child you hear is homeless, scared and hungry
Their farms are filled with land mines
Their cattle and chickens killed or taken for our food
Everything that was theirs is gone

Maybe they have been orphaned by my own gun
For when I shoot I cannot always be certain at what I shoot
Accidents do happen and innocents do get hurt
Because in war we throw reason and confidence to the wind

If you see a child you see a beggar
Clothes are dirty and torn, unwashed
Worn for weeks if not months at a time
For they can no longer feel safe at home if home exists

The innocent victims of war who, if time allows will grow
To become warriors just like us and to keep the hurt alive
To hurt more children and to make more homeless
Because that is what war does

By A T Kenos ©

 

FILE PHOTO (1999): Boy greets Aussie soldiers on patrol in East Timor. Photo by Corporal Brian Hartigan.

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