Children Of War Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

Our playgrounds were abandoned alleys
and fields where soldiers hid they prey
we were too young to fear the battles
where lives were snuffed out night and day

We found some bibles in an attic
and cans of milk in moldy hay
we touched a live forsaken grenade
near where a crumpled body lay

There was a pile of rubber tires
a perfect place to run and climb
nobody chased us off or noticed
most people hid in that sad time

One day a farmer hung some objects
to dry behind his house of logs
we sneaked behind a shrub and noted
they were the skins of cats and dogs

Those memories of wartime moments
that pockmarked youth's fresh hopes and dreams
were softened by the dew of childhood
a gift withheld from grownup schemes

Our playgrounds were abandoned alleys
and fields where soldiers hid they prey
we were too young to fear the battles
where lives were snuffed out every day.