Dear child ~
That child I met on the street of Srinagar,
His eyes followed me to this page,
His pain followed me as I walked towards a place,
Where my voice was respected, a place where I could speak,
Would you have the heart to say, “he is not me”?
I tell you he is me, I feel his pain as I breathe,
I feel the loss of his father was a pain that I grieved.
He does not know his mother, they told him she was dead,
They told him he must not fear, better things are ahead,
Then a soldier came and beat him so that he was close to his death,
His crime? He asked where his mothers buried body lies,
Instead of taking pity because of the pain in his eyes,
They killed their guilt and beat him till he could not move,
Tried to take his life as they knew it was all he had to lose.
That little girl I met in the streets of Gaza,
Her eyes followed me to this page,
Her pain followed me as I reached for my soul,
Unlocked my passion from within so that I could not control,
The way that I felt and I was obliged to act,
That moment changed my life and I would never look back.
She was born to a mother who has nothing but love to give,
Haunted by images of the day that her father was killed,
She saw him face a tank with a stone in his hand,
She proudly speaks of her pride in her fathers stance,
She fights hard to hide the pain that I can see in her eyes,
I tell her she must no longer fear she has no reason to hide,
Her struggle is mine and I devote my life to end her pain,
I saw in her eyes that it was driving her insane.
But I want to hold that little boy close to my heart and tell him he is safe,
I pray that he may just find a way to believe me,
I want to cover his ears to shelter his ears from the destruction,
I pray that he may begin to respect me,
I want to save that little girl from the tear gas that haunts her mind,
If I tell her to take shelter behind me,
she may begin to trust me,
I want to hand her the stones she needs to resist the torture,
She may remember my love and escape her nightmare,
I want to replace their pain with love,innocence and laughter,
I want to tell them that they are the change that we need in this world,
I want them to know that now it is their turn,
I want them to look at me and see I will forever be their .