MuslimKidsMatter | The Prisoner of Life Poem (Ode to Children in Gaza)

The Prisoner of Life

by Sarem Leghari

The girl sat in the bottom of a fifteen foot well
Thinking of the days she had a family.
When she was not on the verge of losing her sanity

She could still hear the cries of her baby brother.
As above them helicopters began to hover.

She remembered the smell of her mother’s appetizing food.
Or that day in her house, when toxic gas was spewed.

Her only crime, to be born in a place so long torn by war
That not even her grandparents remembered the good times before.

As she cried, she began to lose hope.
But then she saw something throw down a rope.

She held the rope and began to climb.
As she hopefully thought of her future, a good time.

She reached the top of the well,
And felt the warmth of the sun against her pale face.

A man with a smirking face pulled her out.
But in her mind she had not a single doubt.

As she turned her face to thank the man.
He planted four knives in her back skin.
As he pushed her down the well again

About the Author

Sarem Leghari is a 14-year-old boy in 9th grade.  He lives in Pakistan.  He has a flair for writing and he loves to write poetry.  He also has his own Facebook page of poetry and more.  Sarem also writes many stories and essays on numerous world issues.  He is a swimmer and a national debater.