Point Of View Of A Child Soldier (Based On Book 'A Long Way Gone') Poem by Mandy Howard

War child, war soldier,
I'm too young to go kill,
I have nightmares every night,
the flashbacks are so powerful.

I'm so scared I can't scream,
scream bloody murder when,
I was shot in my leg,
heavily sedated,
by the cocaine I begged for,
so that I would not feel,
this unbearable physical pain.

The cocaine hits hard,
I start to drift,
into my own world,
a non-realistic world,
right now, right here,
this day and night,
I feel somewhat alright.

The cocaine high,
now gone,
I am left numb and empty,
with all the past killings,
I'm drugged and kill for these adult soldiers.

What if I too refuse?
Would I be killed if I do not provide bodies?
For these adult soldiers,
That have done so much wrong!