Fatherless Child Poem by Darrin McMiller Jr.

How many, fatherless
On the road less traveled
Trying to get further from harm
Walking deeper into trouble

Danger is steeper still
Many obstacles to overcome
And the abyss is swallowing
Any traces of the following
Hope, drive, and inspiration
But somehow they manage the night
Self-preservation

Imagine the terror
On the face of small children staring deep into a mirror
Not knowing whose nose they have,
Or who knows it
Always looking over their shoulder
For a shoulder and yet never to lean on

Little soldiers in a crisis,
Keeping they faces steady mean though
Steady mobbing, steady bodies on the scene
Ready to kill by any means
At every end an adversary
And every step a dead end