Do Not Wake My Children Poem by Nida Nawaz

(Upon seeing school children killed by a landmine)

Do not wake my children
From their deep sleep
Let them rest in the lap of fairies
Let them listen
To eternal celestial lullabies
Let their school bags remain
Beside their pillows
Let these pens, pencils,
And bright-coloured sketch pens
Stay safe within their little pockets
They had set out along the road to school
To discover and behold
This vast universe
They had set out
To fill not only their own lives
But the eyes of an entire society
With golden dreams
Their canvas still lay blank
And they had only begun to imagine
Filling it with
All the joyous colours of the world
But the henchmen of tyrants
Painted them instead
In crimson red
Do not stuff their school bags now
With chocolates, candies,
Or saffron and almond sweets
Such temptations are useless to them now
Let their scattered lunch boxes
Remain exactly as they are
They have been freed forever
From the hunger of this world
They no longer need
Carrot pudding, chickpea curry and fried bread
Or a favourite sandwich
When bread and blood
Are spattered together
The downfall of empires begins
The arrogance of mighty tyrants
Starts slipping away
Like dry sand
Do not wake my children
From their deep sleep
Let them rest in the lap of fairies
Do not remove
Their little crimson clothes
Their blood-stained shoes
Their shirts drenched in red
Do not trouble them
With your sighs and tears
Do not disturb them
With your sobs and memories
Do not wake my children
From their deep sleep
Let them rest in the lap of fairies
Let them listen
To eternal celestial lullabies
They have departed
Upon a long journey of sleep.