A War's Child

Navodita Kandari

I am a child in a war ravaged country.

I don’t know what sunshine is like

Only a nightmarish darkness exists for me.

I don’t know what going to school is like

Only fervent whisperings of God’s name is known to me.

I don’t know what peace is like

Only Grenades, Bombs, Rifles is what I have seen.

I don’t know what happiness is like

Only getting to see another day is what it means.

I don’t know what sleeping peacefully is like

Only shells and bombs rock my sleep.

I don’t know what the outside world is like

Only foreign men wielding guns is what it seems.

I don’t know what having life-long friends is like

Because every other day I see my friends’ families leave.

I don’t know what playing in a park is like

Only having my family unscathed is what I seek.

I don’t know what blissful visions are like

Only frequent explosions mar my dreams.

I don’t remember what my parents before war were like

I only see them shuddering with fear-scared and meek.

But I do know how Hunger, Fear, Poverty, Bloodshed feel

Because I am a child in a war ravaged country.

A War's Child

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