Poem: I Will Not Forget the Children Who Have Suffered

Most of us have great childhood memories, most of which are so precious to us: we have favorite meals, favorite places, favorite sports, and favorite clothes. What a great experience! But for one minute, let’s look back and think about those kids who were victims of war, starvation, and terrorism. They never had access to health care or education, for example — these are victims. I dedicate today’s poem to those stars….

As I laid on my bed, early hours of the day…
I heard the cock crow, reminding me it’s a new day…
I quickly rose up to brush my teeth…
Take my bath and then eat…
I couldn’t wait to see my friends at school…
Most of them were naughty but it was cool…
We played and laughed like it was our last day…
Never held grudges, it all faded away…
My teachers were my heroes…
Although I cried when I scored zeros.

I remember those lunch box days…
I had someone beside me always…
Now I’m grown, no big bed to cry in to…
What seemed big is now so little…
But all I am and would be…
Is a reflection of what my childhood heroes made me.

My friends, my seniors, my teachers, my parents…
They taught me respect, humility, love, and patience…
The glamour of my childhood — all of which I cannot tell…

But for so many kids, childhood was worse than hell…
Remember kids who were victims of the second world war…
Piled up dead bodies 2002 Ikeja bomb blast, a sight so horrible…
April 1996 Srebrenica children massacre 18 years from today…
It seems like their memory has gone away…
Boko Haram sect in Yobe murdered 41 kids on their beds…
Syrian Chemical attack, Assad Regime left 1,300 children dead…
2012 Connecticut Sandy Hook Elementary school Genocide…
1967 Nigerian Civil war, children killed where they reside.

What about children today living in abject poverty?
No clothes, no shelter, no food, no single property…
Most of them never had a childhood story…
Most of them never experienced the urban glory…

To those kids, wherever they are…
We see your halo…we see your star…
And now on this special day…
All we can say…
Is…
Happy Children’s Day.