What A Lovely Childhood

A child lies on a thin mat

Desperate for his home,

The laughter and family that spilled from its walls.

If he just closes his eyes and lies on his left side,

The canvas tent filled with dozens of small children

Can maybe feel like his sisters,

 who were always afraid to sleep alone

What feels like years ago.

A little girl hops around, laughing and screaming, 

“Mum, look, I’m the fastest rabbit!”

Her mother looks on with barely suppressed sobs,

Holding grief 

Her daughter cannot hold yet. 

“What a speedy rabbit!”

She manages to choke out. 

Later, the little girl crawls up in the embrace of her mother.

“I don’t want to be a rabbit anymore.”

She whispers.

“I want to have my legs back now.”

“Maybe one day, special girl. Hold on.”

Her mother cannot bear to break her spirit yet.

A father holds his son in the carnage,

Cradling him in the shelter of his arms as he watches the sky

Light up with clouds of fire.

He can almost think of it as a day.

Another loud boom rips through the building.

“It’s just that mean old cat.”

The boy’s father says,

Soothing the white-eyed child in his embrace.

“Your Mama fed him too much, and now he’s taken over the apartment.”

“Don’t worry Papa, we’ll get him back in his cage soon.”

The boy whispers.

“I know we will.”

His father holds him tighter as the light starts to heat up

And the mean old cat

Thunders impossibly close.

20,000 children are gone. 

Over 42,000 wounded.

5,600 alone.
 

Every child, every single one, all over the globe, is ours. 

No matter how far away their screams of fear,

Their pleas for safety,

Are directed to all of us. 

We live in one world.

We are all one people.