by Mehreen Arshad

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]isten. 

As my mother cries 

As my brother screams 

And my father tries 

To save us from the dark 

From the pain 

Of this life 

That we’ve been living 

Watch. 

As they kill each and every one of us 

As they laugh at our suffering 

As they mock and belittle 

What little dignity we have left 

Watch them cheer as the bombs fall 

From the skies 

And into our homes 

Stand by 

As we’re dragged and beaten 

As they shoot with their guns 

While we walk the streets of what used to be our home 

and as we pick out pieces of bread from the ground 

To fill our stomach and gain some more strength 

Remember all that you have and all that you cherish 

Remember our pain 

Remember our faces 

Remember the blood on the walls that we’ve left 

As we tried to seek help from the world 

But all you did was turn your heads 

And kept quiet 

I imagined this world to be so beautiful 

But all I’ve seen is hatred 

All I’ve heard is anger 

And I know there’s something better waiting for me up there 

It’s why I’ve still found happiness 

In the little that I have 

Because I deserve better 

And this world is not where I’m meant to be.