Born on the Battlefield
Born on the battlefield, in the arms of my mother
Prematurely removed, and still I’ve hardly recovered
I stretch out, each limb being unfurled
Eyes flutter open, my first time seeing the word
*Whoosh*
Dust hits my face, what is in store?
Bullets clink and chime as they fall to the floor
Engines explode, the petrol affronts
Metallic teardrops that float through and rest on my tongue
I look to my mother’s eyes to catch a borrowed glance
Behind their steely exterior, they sit hollow, blank
Her cold hands chill on my skin as she holds me tight
I shiver and shudder, my blood frozen white
A child stuck in a war zone, mother unprepared
The air singed with the scent of burning hair
I try to wriggle-free and I fight her, she’s keeping me tighter
I gaze down to see that liquid leaks from inside her
Blood trickles through, sticky and wet
It’s maroon tint fades away to leave a stygian mess
I curl back in her arms, feeling so delicate
As men fall to the floor, each of them relatives
In danger, I stretch out to yell and point
But am held back by my under-developed voice
With my mother by my side, I’m never left alone
She whispers into my ear, she’ll never let me go
Buildings crumble, my bones shake with the noise
Leaving me too scared to even play with my toys
My birth into this world left damaged and sabotaged
Wrapped and hidden in this blanket of camouflage
I need out, my heart races, I just avert and leave
My legs just too small to desert the scene
I just fall and crawl, but this war is hell
She drags me back with a fist full of mortar shells
Mother grips hard, declining my last appeal
Leaving me with the fate…to die on the battlefield.
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