Children Of Gaza - When Will Their Hardships End Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

They have no chance to find their way to school
they have no classroom to sing their nursery rhymes
they have no playground to run and play
they have no home, no teacher, no books to read;
they have no roof over their heads
they have neither any good food to eat;
they are so full of innocence and simplicity
they are the children of Gaza;
they have no shoes on their little feet
they have no night clothes
nor blankets to wrap themselves in;
they fall asleep with hunger and fatigue;
they are the children that wake up
with bombs exploding
as sirens keep sounding in their ears
as smoke keeps billowing in their backstreets
as explosions keep rocking their neighborhoods.

They have no knowledge of what is courage
but they keep extending their empty bowls
to get some warm meals
from those public kitchens on the streets;
they are the innocent children of Gaza;
their clothes are dirty and tethered
though they are children who were once
so well-dressed and well-fed;
now the long lasting war has taken their
existence to a next level where they have forgotten
what is school, what is food, what is play
as war has made them forget
what is childhood and its blessings.