war torn souls

they know the wailing
the wailing of their raped mothers

they do not know of the laughter
nor the songs of joy at the playing fields

they do not know of the school bell
but the stuttering of assault rifles

the smell of strewn dead bodies
that they have become accustomed to

children robbed of their childhoods
young minds dented beyond repair

war mongers spare no thought
while the children die alive

[ inspired by having viewed a syrian boy on cnn]