Have you heard the children cry
Have you seen their tears
Have you watched them on the tv
For years and years and years?

Have you seen the bodies
And seen their parents’ pain
Their cries of deepest anguish
Heard again, again, again?

Have you shed your own tears
When you see the sight
Of tiny baby’s bodies
Wrapped in shrouds of white?

Has your own heart ached
And have you felt the rage
Against the crazy madmen
The tyrants of our age?

Have you seen the fear
The cities turned to rubble
The homes that once were dear
A sanctuary from trouble?

The starving mother cradling
Her baby who is crying
For lack of food and medicine
The child is slowly dying.

Just turn on your tv
You will see them there again
Your daily dose of misery
Of tragedy and pain.

Sandra Witherick
July 2024