Little Child Poem by Maria Mortimer

Pa handed the little boy,
A little box- car toy
Shots go in the distance,
Soldiers need assistance…

Blackouts hide the little boy,
Still clutching his toy
Bombs sound in the city,
No man's wounds petty…

No colour for the little boy,
Still gripping the tear stained toy
Explosives planted in town,
Soldiers lie with no crown.

No more food for the little boy,
Still holding the shivering toy
Guns enter the neighbourhood
No soldier on frontline stood.

No mask for the little boy,
Still hiding the dirty toy
People forced to leave home
For all soldiers fall like stone.

The tiny little boy
So loyal to the toy
Wrenched from life
A man with a knife

No thought for the little boy
Upon his grave sits the toy
A soldier beside him lies
A man known as pa died
Whilst ma weeps
The day more gas leaks…