War Poem

War
Ready, Aim, Fire

War, a senseless, violent alterative to peace

Crouch, Reload, Wait

War, A massive, empty hole in humanity

Dart, See, Signal

War, A religion of death

Stand, Aim, Fire

War, The last measure to take

Fall, Reload, Listen

War, The curse of hatred

See, Aim, Kill

War, The undoing of Man Kind

Day 1

Day 1
Could this really be happening? Only just a day ago I was in the fields picking bananas. Now I’m trapped in a “fortress” with no way out. I’m cold, scared, and I just down right feel horrible. When will it stop so I can think just to get my head straight? My thoughts, whenever I can think without getting yelled at, always seem to drift back to my home and my family. How are they doing? Are they hungry? Are they making money? What will they do without me? I wish I was home. I wish I was sitting at the table waiting for mama to put supper on the table after the long day. I wish I could just forget about this place and escape with my friends. I wish, but I guess this is home for right now. It’s not quiet as cozy and as welcoming as the home but at least it’s somewhere. I can’t believe the revolutionist think they can do this. Take kids of age 10 and above to fight in a war. That was one of the first things I noticed when we got here they’re lots of kids my age and just a bit older. At least Lolo and Ignacio are with me, without them I don’t know what I would do. I guess there are others too, but they aren’t trust worthy yet. And Juan is just mean and pigheaded. I’ll show him some day. Sergeant Diez and Whistler may be a problem too. And last of all theirs the head man himself Captain Mendoza. The captain may be harsh but the worst thing about this place is it always has the risk of being shot at or raided. I mean just tonight there was a raid where five men died, a raid, on my FIRST NIGHT. This isn’t war its insanity.

Picture site:http://childrenwithguns.blogspot.com/2007/01/breaking-it-down-children-soldiers.html

Day 2

Day 2
There seems to be no reasoning behind this war. As Ignacio said yesterday this is the forty-third war do you really think this one is going to make a difference? Another thing that was just plain strange is I’m starting to find kids that actually left their families to come and join in the war. On my first day when I just met Juan he told me that explanation and I literally almost burst out in his face laughing. I could not believe that anyone in their right mind would want to join the war. I find this war senseless and meaningless. But if I ever mentioned that to anyone I would probably get the beating of my life. It seems to me that myself, Lolo, and Ignacio are the only people in this camp that want to quite because they find this war stupid. I mean Ignacio doesn’t want the war but since we’re in it he does what he can. And Lolo just wants get away as I do. Even the people that say they don’t like the war have been here to long and now just don’t care to complain. Sometimes I wonder if the captain ever feels the way I do, if he ever just feels like giving up because the war seems too big to win and to bloody to attempt. How can he just continue to do his job when orders he know he has to give will kill the very men he is giving them to. How can he look into their faces and not be disgusted with himself. But then again I wonder if I ever get to that kind of position in the ranks, if I live that long, will I still feel the same way or will my prospective change because I’ve seen so much. Oh when will it all just end and get back to normal.


Picture site:http://www.odi.org.uk/hpg/coherence.html

Day 5

Day 5
Today as we were getting ready the captain told us we would be going on patrol. Lolo, Ignacio, and I just looked at each other in mystery. I remember even feeling a bit of anxiety or excitement in me. If only I knew then what I know now, we weren’t just going on patrol we were hunting for loyalist groups trying to scout in our area. If only I knew we would come across the village that changed my life. When the first gunshots reached my ears I was scared and didn’t know what to do. My mind started to race when we followed the sound. Only when we reached the village itself did my feelings rush out of me at the first sight of a dead body. The shock and the horror of seeing the aftermath of the slaughter was unbearable. The sensation to just run away and keep running until I was far, far away from that place almost took me over. It was only when the Captain started to give orders again did I regain my senses. The bodies of children were the ones that really got to me. Mainly because they were almost all even younger then I was. The girl and young baby we found in the forest was a sign of hope to me. I don’t know why, maybe because to me it said that people could out live the war. Ever since we found them I feel that I have to watch over them, especially the baby. It hurt so bad when I had to hand him over to the women who I knew would take good care of him. I wished him goodbye with my last prayer for him knowing we would never meet again. I still see his little face in my dreams and can picture him growing up. Those moments will be forever etched into my heart and mind. I will never be the same since that experience, in mind and in heart. They have taught me the lesson of giving and not taking, caring and not harming, and to be selfless to help others when in need.

Picture site:http://blackpanthercreations.com/westcottdesigns/bio.html

Day 7

Day 7
We only just got back to camp and have been worked even harder than before and now they want us to go into a major battle! At first I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, thoughts whirled through my mind. Would I have to shoot someone, would I go alone, where were we going, what would we be doing? All these thoughts and more just seemed to pile up. It was too much. When I found out that we would be going down to the river to hold our position for the others to get here the next day my heart sank even lower. My heart told me to be scared but my mind told me to be a soldier and stop this. The only comfort I found was that Lolo and Ignacio were in my group as well. Captain Mendoza called us and told us our mission. We packed quickly and we were off. I found another comfort on the road. Most of the men in the group were very experienced men. So I knew I wasn’t walking off with a bunch of newbie’s. By the time we actually got to the river it was to dark to see all the way across. Lolo and I got positioned together behind a log. The sergeant told us to watch the river and listen for boats that may be coming down it. We sat there for quite a bit of time before we heard anything. Lolo and I listened but it was only a jaguar. Only a few minutes past before Lolo heard some boats. My mind raced would I have to kill someone now or would I chicken out again. Time was running out the sergeant had told us wait for his shot then shoot. I heard the shoot and decided to shoot. Those few seconds, where I saw the black form I had shot fall into the water, felt like an eternity. But the sound of Lolo’s shot brought me back. I kept firing watching form after form fall into the water. When it was all over the captain took us off our shift to let us sleep. Lolo seemed to get to sleep so easily. But me I just laid there thinking about what had just happened.

Picture site:http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-05-child-soldiers_x.htm

Day 8

Day 8
When I first regained consciousness my mind raced, how long had I been out. Where was I? So many questions filled my head. I thought about what I had done during the battle. And then it hit me, where was Lolo? Ignacio had been reluctant to tell me that he had been wounded badly and was gone. My heart seemed to skip a beat. Would we see each other again? I wondered if this day could get any worse. Ignacio’s news about him going to the US was great. And about me getting sent home, but the question most on my mind was, how can I leave? I’m a soldier now and nothing else. Ignacio said we would be doctor and teacher soldiers. But I can’t imagine it. When we first came here I thought I was going to be soldier. Someone who takes orders and becomes a hero, but now I was to leave? How can they expect me to just change back and not reflect on being a soldier? I mean this whole experience has taught me to be very careful, not trusting, and lots of other things I know are wrong. War has taught me things I know now that I wish I would have learned later in my life. Why do these things have to happen to people? I hope the next generation of children in this country doesn’t have to live this life and learn what I’ve learned until they are fully ready for it. My whole perspective on life has changed since I first came into this war. I’ve learned that I can not really hurt someone for no reason and that I am naturally caring for people that I don’t even know. War is such a curious thing. It can teach the best and the worst lessons for people. It also brings people into prospective about life and helps them see that every life whoever it may be is precious and is not meant to just be spent aimlessly and thought to have no worth at all. This is my final entry. I hope to write in a more peaceful time but for now I will do what I can to make this nation a more livable home.

Picture site:http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0707/a-walk-in-the-sun.html