"There Are Children in the Grave Who Used to Laugh and Sing"

"Little Girl" 18x20 oil on canvas

Children are the saddest casualty of any war or conflict. If you listen you can hear them calling out.

"There Are Children in the Grave Who Used to Laugh and Sing"

There are children in the grave
who used to laugh
and sing
and go to school
like normal children do.
But now
there are children in the grave.
Patriotic songs ring out
for men play games of war
and power.

Hiding under the covers
alone time
trying not to hear their cries
that no longer make a sound
and yet
screaming
continually
if you pause long enough
to hear.
Like the saddest symphony
a thousand instruments
objecting to the end
heard
silent.

I listen for it still
as reluctantly as you
and wear those colors
blue
keeping them tightly clutched
inside my hand.
Passers by
sometimes forget
that kind of emptiness
but we won't
right?

Right to count the storms
yet oh
I wish this one
was over.
Take even steps
mark the time
number our falls
stand still in those permanent spaces
ready
courage to speak out
against a young child's rival.

The intensions of the determined
crush against such memories
demanding muteness.
But oh
we should always hesitate
before moving on.
We don't need to see the wind
to understand the light around us
confessions come easiest
when impulsive.
Yes
we should always honor the voices
of those children
who never got a chance to sing
their songs
as loud as we could
if we chose to
before our life
was gone.

There are children in the grave
who used to laugh
and sing
and go to school
like normal children do.
But now
there are children
in the grave.

Copyright 2009
by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen