In a distant land, a city bright,
Where olive trees bathed in golden light.
Fields of oranges, ripe and sweet,
Where children’s laughter filled the streets.

The markets buzzed with joy and song,
With bread and sweets the day stretched long.
And in the air, so soft and near,
The call to prayer, both calm and clear.

A boy named Adil, young and free,
Kicked a ball beside the sea.
His laughter rang through ocean’s roar,
His joy, untouched, his spirit pure.

The sky, once bright, shattered apart,
A deafening BOOM that shook the tide.
The earth exploded, a deafening roar,
Shaking the heavens, tearing the floor.

Adil, still laughing, thought it was a game,
Chasing his cousin, calling his name.
But with each step, the world shook more,
And childhood crumbled to the floor.

His cousin’s grip was all he knew,
They ran, though neither understood.
“What game is this?” young Adil cried,
As they fled with nowhere to hide.

They ran through streets of bloodied cries,
Each corner echoing with broken skies.
Adil, with innocence in his chest,
Held his cousin’s hand, still thinking this was a test.

Where once stood a shop full of sweets,
Now rubble, fire, and twisted streets.
The joy he knew had turned to dust,
The city crumbled—lost to rust.

Still, Adil ran, his mind confused,
This had to be a game, he mused.
“Mama,” he whispered, wild with dread,
But this was not a game he had been led.

Through empty streets, they ran in vain,
Until cold metal came like rain.
A machine, massive, towering high,
Once seen in movies—now his sky.

Adil stood, still thinking it’s a race,
The terror too real, too much to face.
“Is this the game?” he thought in fear,
But the nightmare pressed far too near.

A child doesn't judge,
A child isn't double-faced.
A child tells the truth
Without disguise.

A child is fascinated
By the smallest wonders.
It sees magic in the stars,
The tiny bug on the flower,
And a face in the clouds.

A child starts to dance
When the music plays,
Doesn't care about
What others think.
Draws the sun in the corner
With a smiling face,
Waves to planes passing by,
And cries when it's scared.

A child is the only human
Living almost free.
That is why we should try
To be a little more like a child.

I have no heart
I have no good intentions
I am not sure I even exist
I do what I do, because if not me
who else?
even my tears have run dry
if someone is hurt, you must mend them
if someone is starving, you must feed them
if someone is mourning, you must comfort them

A little girls face lit up
overjoyed
she ran and hugged me very tight
that's when I realized, I had a tear or two more in me
then, it dawned on me, inside every  heart is a candle
the little girl somehow lit mine
or maybe it was in hiding
if only my tears could save them all

"i don't know." i said.
"don't know what to do,
don't know where to go."
"it is dark in here." he said.
"dark in your head,
dark in your heart."
"it's okay." we said.
"okay to feel the pain,
okay to be yourself."

"it is your fault." we were told.
"your fault that the world is dying,
your fault that nobody believes."
"is it our fault?" our brain asked.
"can i ever do something good?
am i ever enough for them?"

"should i go?" my heart asked.
"yes." my brain said. "you should."
"why?" they're asking on the news.
"why?" the parents ask at home.
"this is why." my spirit is thinking.
thinking when i rise up, up to god.

Behind a locked door, there lies a child

You hear the sound of quiet crying as you look at their red face,

Their fever coming to a boil,

Their skin clammy and aching

Their throat so sore it makes no noise

They look into your eyes and
You see defeat,

the wish to scream never coming true

Their eyes turning into a swirl of black nothingness, it almost swallows you hole