Tell them to look towards the stars
And within them they'll find their dreams.
What you won't tell them is that
Halfway across the world they dream of seeing
Another child does the same
Only to watch their dreams snatched from their fingertips
Carried away by the white clouds
As rain clouds fill their night sky
And the stars disappear
As the neon lights
Illuminate their impoverishment.
They will not dream of the same things
As our children,
But of education, of food
And of rest
Of a clean water source
To which they aren't required to walk miles
And as the cats roll into town
Their eyes spiralling and their grins wide
The children will look down from the stars,
A sight they know in their hearts
They will never see them again.
We only have the right to express ourselves
Through the way in which we decorate ourselves
Because these children don't dream anymore.