Dying Wish

A poem about a child caught in war.

Dying Wish

I had an innocent wish to read and write
when it was absurd to even dream at night.
It hurt to strangle my dearest desire,
the least I could do amidst all that fire.

I'd grown weary watching them weep
over broken homes and bodies buried deep.
There were moments I couldn't forget,
giving me nightmares and no rest.
I had seen them kick my mother away,
it hurt so much I saw the world sway.
Bruised and battered they had left us,
the suffering continued like an eternal curse.
Wanting to tell them not to barge in again,
knocking things down like people gone insane.

Peering through the window, saw the sun shine.
Thinking, today wasn't the day to hide inside.
Maneuvering away from mother's watchful sight,
skipping all the way I was going out to play.

Tearing through the trees,
I saw it come towards me,
To my mother I had wanted to run,
sit in her lap as she pampered her only son.

All I heard was a deafening boom,
never realized my time would come so soon.
Slowly I sank to the ground,
praying it wasn't too late before I was found.
Felt something warm trickle down my face,
knew it was the end of my race.
Remembering, in a land far away meetings were being held,
It had been my dying wish to see them put this all to an end.