Child Soldiers... Poem by chantelle ribeiro

Innocence lost in the desert winds
lifeless eyes stare
devoid of childish thrills
Adventures a distant memory
only survival instinct remains
The savage brainwashing
A precious child
forced into a life of crime
a machete caked with blood
soaking into the dunes
staring out from a dirty bandanna
devoid of emotion
on the horizon the azure ocean
but the wondrous nature of that child
stripped bare
terrorized
hypnotized
vicious and cruel
he stares
Child soldiers
witnesses to evil so profound
their families murdered
before them fell
they are now the new generation
of genocide and dehumanization