Today’s poem

CHILD OF WAR I do not know you, little one, So many miles from here, And I cannot begin to imagine The terror and the fear. I see the words of ‘nerve gas’ And the horror it can cause, And feel ashamed that a tiny child, Has been caught up in grown-up wars. Your desperate eyes look out at me, From a cruel and different world, And all that I can offer you, Are empathetic words. Words of true compassion, That make my sad heart bleed, Words that at your tender age, You will never read. I want to stretch my arms out, So you feel my warm embrace, And show you all the love there is, In the human race. And I want to offer comfort, To lift you from your fate. But I sit in fear that little one, It may all be too late. Sheila Webb, Chesham, Bucks.