by erick ochieng otieno
Published on: Jun 20, 2007
Topic:
Type: Poetry

A cruel world it is
Or is it not
A better world it is
Or is it not

People laugh
People cry
People get excited
People are people

Others have all they yearn for
Others search for it
Others have to sacrifice all
Others still, robe from others

What is it
Where do we find it
What does one have to do
To get peace

As many flee
Others thump their chest
For cries of victory
Others get happy
They have achieved
The greatest victory
Of war

But what have we gained
What have we seen
We have seen suffering
Immense suffering

Our children starve
As we run for our lives
We live a life
Of hopelessness

It is true that we get
Almost everything we need
We get food
We get schools
We get all that matters

We are happy
that we are given
the opportunity
like others

We are happy
Happy
We can contribute
To the development
Of the world
It is however
Our wish
To do the same to our areas
To our countries
But what we ask
Do these things
Substitute for peace
It is everybody’s right
To live in peace

When I see Dafur
I see my self
When I see Iraq
I see myself
When I see Palestine
I see myself
When I see Lebanon
I see myself

When will I stop
Being everywhere
When will things be
Just the way they ought to be
I really appreciate
What is done to me
By the well-wishers
By those sacrificing

But really
Do I have to be
Where I am
Every now and then

What I keep on asking
Why don’t we have
The solution to my problems
Why don’t we strive
To get to the root
Of all these problems

Why am I saying all this
Today I am here
Tomorrow I will be no more
But my daughter will be here
Tomorrow she will be no more
And tomorrow my son will be here
And tomorrow he will be no more
The only good thing
Is for a lasting solution
To be found for my plight
Whoever said
Never treat the symptom
Treat the root cause
Really knew
About the day
That I will be a refugee

The saying goes
When you cut a tree by the stem
It shall grow its shoot again
But if you uproot it
It shall never grow

The final clarification
Stop the wars
Stop the hunger
Stop the exploitation of the week
Stop! Stop! Stop!
And let us make our world
A better place
That way, we will never have
To live as refugee
Help us
Stop the refugee increase
You and I
Can do it



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