WHAT THE CHILD SEES

A child looking out a window,
Sees a man carrying a gun.
As the child watches, the man shoots
People in the street, one by one.

Some of the people the child
Knows, some he does not.
He knows they were good people,
And cannot understand why they were shot.

The child's parents say he
Can't go outside to play.
They say it's too dangerous--
So in the house he stays.

The next week there's
A bomb blast--his home
Blown apart, nothing but rubble.
Nothing is left of what they owned.

People around him are scared,
Angry, and crying.  Some are sick.
They all try to get to safety--
But some just can't make it.

The child is traumatized--
His eyes empty and sad.
He doesn't smile and can't sleep
Because of the nightmares he has.

The child represents all the
Children in this world.  Not
Just one country, one government--
One race or religion, everyone's caught.

We are all seeing what
The child sees every day.
We hate what we see--
All we can do is pray.