Cold Tears Poem by Fasika Ayalew

I try to stand yet I fall
Among many I feel alone
I try to catch, I can not reach
I try to belong, can’t find my niche
I want to rise up yet I drown
I try to smile yet I frown
I try to grasp my mother’s face
It fleets away through my gaze
I know that I am orphaned
Is it the reason for all the ‘can’t’
Why this feeling I questioned and asked
Lip serviced and with sympathy
I was told that I live with HIV
What is HIV…and why on me…?
Both my parents why have I lost?
A healthy lad why I am not?
Can anyone tell me why?
‘For your question of why
I do not know but why’
is what I get as a reply
Why…?
Oh …Lord why, I addressed my plea
But no answer came promptly
Why…? Can anyone tell me why…?
…as I cry my cold tears
Why on a boy of 11 years?