I am Karel, aged 9
See! I have drawn a skull and crossbones
This isn’t a pirate picture
The bones are real
Nothing here is pretend
Where I live
Coffins are common as doors
No happy songs,
Only the chants for the dead
Fear, filth, grief
Are my close companions
It’s hard, being a child
Where hunger gnaws you lean
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem