Scribble

 

I gave you some crayons

To create your own space

But you decided to invade

My own personal place

You scribbled and tortured

all of my walls

If only your design

Was like Niagara Falls

But all you do is

Destroy my walls

Can’t you create a

Mona Lisa

Or even

The tower of Pisa

If I take your crayons away

What will happen today

Will you take out your paints

And decorate my place

To look like no – ones ever seen

Pretend you are Leonardo Da Vince

Sit quietly and paint my face

Gillian Sims

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SCARY MARY’S RECIPES FOR HALL0WEEN WHY DONT YOU TRY ONE IF YOU DARE!

Blood soup 
This is an easy recipe. You will need a can of tomato soup and a pack of musksticks. First, cook the soup in a pan over a stove. Then break up the musk sticks and put them into the soup to create…blood soup with delicious fingers!

Dead Fingers
This is a shortbread type cookie that look like fingers.The dough is piped (use a bag without any tip to get a finger sized cylinder) onto the cookie sheet. Then using the dull side of a butter knife make lines suggesting knuckle and wrinkles, and add an almond for the fingernail. I found the unblanched variety look particularly creepy. You can add a bit of red icing (ie.that translucent yuk that comes in a tube) if you want a bloody finger. I have experimented with this idea and found it better to make an impression with the almond rather then bake them and “glue” the almonds to the finger afterwards with the “blood”. This gives a new twist to the term “finger foods”.

Brain Cookies 
You color a icebox type dough a sickening purplish/gray shade and then push the dough through a colander to make extruded spaghetti shapes.Then you loosely pat spoonfuls of the dough into brain shapes (well at least most kids’ notions of how a brain is shaped). I think I experimented with different kitchen tools with this one and ended up using one of those collapsable steamer things to make the spaghetti.

French Fried Eye Balls 
2 pototoes
relish
Mash potatoes and mold them into balls. Cook 160C in oven 20 min. Spread relish over and enjoy!

Bugs in dirt sandwiches 
For this you will need white bread, a pack of mixed bug shaped lollies and milo. First, spread your slices of bread with margerine or butter. Then, sprinkle the buttered slices with milo until completely coated. Carefully stick the bugs firmly into the milo and place remaining slice of bread on top. Voila! you have bugs in dirt sandwhiches!

Tombstoned biscuites 
This recipe is a nice treat. First, you will need icing sugar, rectangular biscuites and a toothpick. Take your icing sugar and mix it with hot water until fairly runny. Dip each of your biscuits into the mixture and place onto a foiled tray. Take your toothpick and carve “R.I.P” out of the icing on every biscuit. Place in fridge for a few hours and presto! Your very own mini tombstones!

Brain Cell Salad 
1 (6-ounce) package blueberry gelatin dessert mix
1 (16-ounce) container small-curd cottage cheese
1 (16 1/2-ounce) can blueberries in syrup (or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, thawed)
blue food coloring
Prepare gelatin according to the directions on the package. Chill for four to five hours, or until firm.
Scoop cottage cheese into bowl. Drain and set aside the syrup from the blueberries. Add the berries to
the cottage cheese and mix well. Add three drops food coloring to turn the cottage cheese a nice qrayish color when blended. To serve salad, place a few spoonfuls of firm gelatin (congealed brain fluids) onto individual plates. Top with a scoop of cottage cheese (brain tissue) mixture and serve.

Crusty Booger Balls 
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
5 1/3 cups flaked coconut (about 14 ounces)
1 large 8-ounce package lime-flavored gelatin
1 cup ground, blanched almonds
1 teaspoon almond extract
In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, coconut, 1/3 cup of the unprepared gelatin, almonds, and almond extract. Mix well with a large mixing spoon or rubber spatula. Cover bowl with platic wrap and chill for about an hour or until mixture is firm enough to mold in your hands. Scoop by 1/2 teaspoonfuls and shape into various-sized booger balls. Place them on a baking sheet, lined with a sheet of waxed paper. Make sure they are all slightly different, just as each and every booger iwsunique and special. Place a second sheet of waxed paper on your work surface and pour remaining unprepared lime gelatin on the center of the waxed paper. Roll each ball in gelatin to coat well and create a thin outer layer. Then place back on the baking sheet. Return boogers to the refrigerator for and hour before seving, and store any extras in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Cake 
Bake 2 cakes in Bundt pans. Place the 2 cakes together bottom to bottom. Frost with orange frosting made from food colouring. The pumpkin face is pieces of a Hershey Chocolate Bar cut into triangles, etc for eyes, nose, etc. And finally set a chocolate frosted cupcake at the top as the stem.
Note: This ends up being a whole lot of cake.

Another Eyeball Dish! 
Buy a can of lychee fruits and simply stuff the little devils with grapes (try mixing red and green grapes). Serve in a hollowed out gourd. Serve this down with Vampire blood. Any red-coloured drink will do. Simply serve it in small pumpkin-type gourds that have been cleaned out. Use black liquorice for straws, and start sucking.

Frog’s Eye Salad 
1 cup Acini De Pepe
2 cups mandarin oranges
1 cup pineapple tidbits
1 1/2 cups marshmallows
3 egg yolks
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup sugar
1 reg. size Cool Whip
Boil Acini De Pepe in salted water til tender, but not soft (about 10 minutes) and drain. Drain fruit. Thicken fruit juice, egg yolks, flour and sugar. Add drained Acini De Pepe while dressing is still hot, then let the whole mixture cool. When cooled, fold in marshmallows, fruit, and Cool Whip. Chill.

Graveyard Treat
Crush a full bag of Oreo cookies and spread some in the bottom of the pan. Reserve the other half for the top. Next mix chocolate pudding and coolwhip, and spread over the crust. Spread the remaining crumbs over the pudding, covering completely. Use cookies to represent the tombstones, oval cookies are best, you can even pipe on saying with icing (R.I.P. etc) I have some bats on sticks that I stick down in the cookie tombstones (if they are sandwich cookies). Just use your imagination to decorate your
graveyard. Enjoy this ghoulish treat. Happy Haunting!

Kitty Litter Cake 
1 pkg. spice cake mix
1 pkg. white cake mix
1 pkg. white sandwich cookies
green food coloring
12 small tootsie rolls
1 pkg. vanilla pudding mix
1 new kitty litter box
1 new pooper scooper
Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions. Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble. Crumble white sandwich cookies in small batches in blender. They tend to stick, so scrape often. Set aside all but about 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, add a few drops green food
coloring and mix using a fork. When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with half the remaining cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. Gently combine. Line new, clean kitty litter box. Put mixture into litter box. Put three unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until soft and pliable. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly. Repeat with 3 more Tootsie rolls and bury in mixture. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over top. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly over the top, this is supposed to look like the chlorophyll in kitty litter. Heat remaining Tootsie rolls, 3 at a time, in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Serve with a new pooper scooper. This does take a bit of time. My friend made it for an adult’s Halloween party, I swear you can’t tell it from the real thing if you follow the directions carefully. Serves 24

Bone Sandwiches
Cut the crusts off of some slices of white bread. Spread peanut butter and jam on the bread. Roll the sandwiches up. Ta da! You have bones with blood and marrow for dinner!

Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 small to medium pumpkin
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 10-oz can cream of chicken soup
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 to 2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS brown sugar
Cut off top of pumpkin; clean out seeds and pulp. Paint on appropriate face on front of pumpkin with pemanent marker or acrylic paint. In a large skillet, saute’ onion in oil until tender; add meat and brown.
Drain drippings from skillet. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin, with filling, on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour in 350 degree oven or until inside meat of pumpkin is tender. Put pumpkin on a plate; remove top and serve. For your vegetable, scoop out cooked pumpkin and serve. Serves 6 people

Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
vegetable oil
1.Separate pumpkin seeds from the pulp but don’t wash the seeds.
2.Mix seeds, butter, salt, and stir.
3.Grease baking tray with oil and pour on buttered seeds. Gently shake the pan to even out the seeds.
4.Bake seeds at 200 degrees F. for 45 mins.

The Classic Apple Dunking
Apples
Water
A deep pan or a half barrel
Lots of people
You can blindfold the players or not. Put the water and apples in the barrel. Without using hands the players must pick up an apple with their teeth! (If you wear glasses then don’t forget to take them off.)

Pumpkin Cake This tastes like pumpkin!
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 c. dark molassses
3/4 c. milk
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
Mix together sugar, butter, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Add one egg and beat until fluffy. Add molasses and milk. Combine flour and basking soda and add to wet mixture. Bake in a round pan at 325 degrees F. for 35 minutes. When cooled frost with orange icing.

Green Eye Pie
In a bowl combine 2 cups of washed and dried green grapes and 1/2 cup of sour cream. Pour into 1 prepared graham cracker pie crust. Right before serving sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.

Gory Hand – Presentation is everything.
This is both a yummy treat and a great decoration to scare your friends. Use a clean rubber glove. Make a strong cherry or other red jello by using 3/4 of the recommended amount of water. Hang the glove over the sink by using clothes pins attached to thin strips of wood. When the jello has cooled pour into glove and place in the deep freeze. Be careful not to have the hand pressing against anything or it will ruin the shape. When the jello is frozen cut the glove off using small scissors. Keep your masterpiece in the fridge until ready to display.

alternate Gory Hand tip:
Take a clean rubber glove and fill it with water, tie it and put it in the deep freeze. Keep it in there until your party. When you’re ready take it out of the glove and put it in the punchbowl instead of ice!

Eyeball Snacks
1 lb. icing sugar
1 egg white
peppermint essence
black liquorice
blue or green colouring
Beat the egg white lightly and blend with a small amout of icing sugar and a few drops of peppermint essence. Mix until you get a fine dry paste. Using your hands knead the paste adding small amounts of icing sugar until the paste will absorb it. Separate a small quatitiy to make the irises, adding a few drops of blue or green coloring and mix. Roll the white mixture into small round balls. Press a hole in the top of the ball with your finger and add some of the colored mixture. Cut a small piece off of the
liquorice and place in the middle of the colored mixture for the pupil. Voila!

Spider Salad
1.Place one half of a canned peach on a plate, flat side down.
2.Cut eight curls off of a carrot with a vegetable peeler.
3.Tuck the curls under the peach to make spider legs.
4.Put raisins on top of peach for eyes.
5.Put a small piece of marachino cherry under the raisins for the mouth.

Easy Insects
1.Melt a 6oz. package of butterscotch chips over low heat, stirring constantly.
2.Remove chips from heat and stir in 1 cup peanuts and 3 cups chow mein noodles.
3.Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper and cool.

 

Drinks

Vampire’s Blood Shake
2 cups plain yogurt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package frozen starwberries or raspberries, thawed
ice cubes
1 pint strawberry ice cream
1.Mix yogurt, vanilla, and berries in the blender.
2.Pour into tall glasses over ice cubes, or chill.
3.Top with a big spoonful of strawberry ice cream.

BLOOD RED ICE
For deep red ice, try cherry Kool-Aid®. It Can even be frozen inside a plastic glove, now this really adds some snap to a punchbowl! MYSTERY PUNCH 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2 quarts apple cider 3 cups water 12 ounce can of frozen orange juice concentrate Stir all ingredients together until well blended. Chill 1 hour. Serve cold with blood red ice mold (above) To serve warm, after chilling, bring mixture to a boil, then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

BOILING WITCH’S CAULDRON OF WHAAP
Get one of those plastic witch’s cauldrons from your nearest Halloween supply store usually available at large retail outlets around Halloween. Wash it out real good. Purchase some frozen lemonade, lime-lemonade, and whatever other flavor you want to use as your base taste. Then proceed to add a couple liters of lemon-lime tasting soda such as 7-UP, Sprite, Squirt or even Ginger Ale. Add a whole bunch of cut-up fruit: watermelon, strawberries, musk melon, cantaloupe, oranges, and of course your favorite style of grapes (they make good eyeballs). To darken the mixture you may want to add a couple of packages of grape or blackberry Kool-Aid®. For added effect you can purchase some plastic bones, eyeballs, bats, spiders or whatever else you can find. Lastly you will want to add dry ice for the boiling effect and to have “steam” rolling over the edges.

A WARNING ABOUT DRY ICE!!!! IT CAN BURN SKIN BY HANDLING IT OR SOMEONE’S THROAT IF THEY SWALLOW IT! BE SURE TO WARN YOUR GUESTS OF THE DANGERS BEFORE THEY GET AT IT OR MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF SIGN TO WARN THEM. WE CANNOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUGGESTING IT’S USE.

There’s Bugs in my Drink! 
Put raisins in your punch for bugs!

A Gruesome Brew
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 quart apple cider
5 cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
toads and salamanders
1.Mix lemon juice and cider in a saucepan.
2.Put spices in a tea ball and add to cider.
3.Bring mixture to a boil over low heat and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes.
4.Cool slightly, remove tea ball, and serve. Also good cold.

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Tips for nurturing a child’s interest in reading

Reading should be a shared experience between parent and child in order to ensure a love of books from an early age.
Ensure your child sees you reading regularly whether it’s a book, a newspaper or a magazine as it will instil a love of reading for pleasure.
Let your child help you choose the books you read together. If your child doesn’t like a book, don’t force him or her to read it. Let them put it down and come back to it after reading something else.
Read in a place that’s comfortable for both you and your child. During and after reading a book talk about the story and take time to discuss the ideas in the book in order to ensure a greater understanding.
Give your child plenty of praise while reading. If they have a favourite book or author let them read them again and again but also introduce an author or book similar in style. Our Like-for-Like feature (see below) will help here.
Parents can enjoy online-time with children as much as watching TV with them. Specialist websites like Lovereading4kids are not only fun for online browsing, but have developed specialist tools such as the facility to download free Opening Extracts and search author Like-for-Like functions.
Many of today’s parents are not aware that there are whole rafts of childrens’ books written by great authors especially for them. These days, children don’t have to be forced to read Dickens or Bronte. Harry Potter is not alone!
Above all, make reading fun.

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HAPPY ST GEORGE’S DAY FROM ALLABOUTMANNERS

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St. George And The Dragon

Some folks’ll boast about their family trees,
And there’s some trees they ought to lop;
But our family tree, believe me, goes right back,
You can see monkeys sitting on top!

To give you some idea of our family tree,
And don’t think I’m boastin’ nor braggin’,
My great, great, great, great, great, great, great Uncle George,
Wor the Saint George who slaughtered the Dragon.

Aye, he wor a blacksmith, not one of the sort
Who shoe horses and sing anvil chorusses,
He used to shoe Dinasauss – big woolly Elephants,
Thumping great Brontosauruses.

Well, one day while he shod a Brontosauruses,
A feller ran into the forge,
He wor shivering with fright and his face pale and white,
And when he got his breath he said ‘George –

‘Eh, I’ve just seen a dragon, a whopping great dragon,’
And uncle said ‘Seen what? A dragon!
Thou’d best see a doctor, you’ve got ’em owld lad,
Eh, I thought you were on water wagon!’

But the fellow said, ‘Nay, ’twere a big fiery dragon,
‘Twere belchin’ out fire as it run!’
And Uncle George said ‘I could do with a dragon
With coal now at two quid a ton.’

And the feller said ‘Eh, but what’s more
I’ve just heard that the old Baron up at the Castle
Says, him as kills Dragon can marry his daughter,
She’s lovely and she’s worth a parcel.’

Then fellow goes off and old Uncle George thinks,
Of the brass and the bride in old satin,
So he brings out his pup and a pair of his ferrets,
And says to ’em ‘We’re going ratting.’

The ferrets they cocked up their noses with joy,
And the old Bull pup’s tail kept a-waggin’,
Then Uncle George shoves ’em a’side rabbit hole,
And says to ’em ‘Go on, fetch Dragon.’

Then suddenly he smells a sulphery smell,
Then he sees a big gigantic lizzard,
With smoke coming out of its eyes and its ear’oles,
And flames coming out of its gizzard.

And was George afraid? Yes, he was and he run,
And he hid there in one of the ditches,
While the Dragon, the pig, ate his ferrets and pup,
Aye, best of his prize-winning er – she dogs.

Then George said ‘Gad zooks! I’ll split thee to the wizzen,
By Gum, but he were in a fury,
And he runs to a junk shop, and buys a spear,
And he pinches a Drayhorse from Brew’ry.

Then he sallies forth with a teatray on chest,
On his head he’d a big copper kettle,
With a couple of flat irons to throw at the Dragon,
Owd George were a real man of mettle!

At last he meets Dragon beside of the pump,
Dragon sees him and breathes fire and slaughter,
But George he were ready and in Dragon’s mouth,
He just throws a big pail of water!

The Dragon’s breath sizzled he’d put out the fire,
Our family are all clever fellows!
Then so as that owd Dragon can’t blow up more fire,
With his big spear he punctures his bellows.

Then finding he’d killed it, he out with his knife,
He had gumption beside other merits –
And he cuts open Dragon, and under it’s vest,
Safe and sound are the pup and the ferrets.

That night the Old Baron gave Uncle his bride,
When he saw her he fainted with horror,
She’d a face like a kite, worse than that the old Baron
Said ‘George, you’ll be Saint George tomorrow.’

‘Course, as St George t’were no drinking nor smoking,
They barred him horse racing as well,
And poor old St George, when he looked at his Bride,
Used to wish that old Dragon to… Blazes!

And he got so fed up with this being a Saint,
And the Princess he’d won always naggin’,
That he bunked off one day and he opened a pub,
And he called it the ‘George and the Dragon.

And he did a fine trade, eh, for years and for years.
People all came from near and from far there
Just to see Uncle George and the Dragon which he had had,
Stuffed and hung up in the bar there.

T’were a thousand feet long and three hundred feet ‘wide,
But one day while a big crowd observed it,
It fell off the nail, and squashed Uncle George,
And the blinking old liar deserved it.

Copyright; Weston & Lee

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The Inquisitive Child – a Remembrance Day poem

 

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy? Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love. For the men who marched away.
But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy? Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died in the fields where the poppies grow.
But why are the poppies so red, Mummy? Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child. The blood that our soldiers shed.
The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy. Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief. For the men who never came back.
But why, Mummy are you crying so? Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you my child. For the world is forgetting again.

Author unknown

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Eat your fruit and veg

 

Sometimes I have a lot of food

On a very large plate.

Sometimes I cannot wait

To eat my fruit and veg.

I always know

It will help me grow,

Strengthen my bones

From tip to toe.

But sometimes I get fed up

With my fruit and veg.

I push my plate away

Then I hear my father say,

“You won’t grow up

To reach the stars,

Or have the strength

Of three spacemen.”

I had to remind him then,

That I’m a teddy bear

“That is no excuse,” he said,

“You still have to eat

Your fruit and veg!”

Gillian Sims.

A poem from Manner Bear And Friends

Purchase this at amazon.com

SEND IN YOUR HEALTHY FOOD TIPS TO:

poetreecreations@yahoo.com

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Always remember the green cross code

 

 

Molly the mouse was walking to school with Cheeky Monkey
When the wind blew off her hat into a tree,
“I will get it I will get your hat for you”
Without further ado
Cheeky Monkey chased the hat it blew into the middle of the road
Molly looked worried she knew how dangerous the road can be
“No! No! She shouted look at all the traffic can’t you see?
“You must wait at the crossroads for the little green man to appear.”
Cheeky Monkey just ran and ran he didn’t listen,the hat was near
Molly waited for his safe return
She knew Cheeky Monkey didn’t listen to her concerns
All Molly could do was sit and watch
Her brave friend weave and dodge
The traffic in his plight to capture her hat
Molly just wanted her friend back
That is why it is always best
To use the green cross code
You will always be safe on the roads

Gillian Sims

This poem was taken from Manners Bear And Friends my new children’s poetry book  now available at Waterstone’s

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Don’t talk to strangers

 

Miss prim went to visit her uncle in Pond lane

She clung to her umbrella in the pouring rain

A car stopped at her side

The driver asked if he could give her a ride,

Miss Prim looked at the strange man

She was very nervous and just ran and ran

It wasn’t far now to her uncles house

A few more steps and she would be safe and sound,

Miss Prim was so glad when her uncle opened his door

He seemed so surprised at what he saw

“why are you crying” he asked Miss Prim,

She wiped her tears.”Can I come in?”

Her uncle found out about the man in the car

“Don’t worry my dear he won’t get very far.”

He quickly picked up the phone,

“I will tell the Police before you go home.”

Miss Prim felt so relieved

So glad that she hadn’t spoke to the stranger

So glad that she wasn’t in any danger

Gillian Sims

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My dad my soldier my hero

as you lay your weary body down, our hearts are heavy, your a million miles away, that one phone call a week lifts our spirits, but to hear your tired voice and not hold you, to feel your love shut of, you cant see it but you feel it deep within, i love you, you are my hero, days and nights i never stop thinking of you, you are my father my hero, yet the army took you, love could never have saved you, you were lost in your mind, lost in your own terror and nightmares.
The harden men weep for once was a life, their arch made with their guns… i walk through they are all a blur, you tore my heart out and deserted your family, the guns fire one after another 21 in total, and old lady wimpers, she never knew you like i did dad, i knew your faults knew your dreams shared your love of literiture, the casket slide down into the earth, how could you leave? just because i was 17 didnt mean i didnt need you, you were our partner in crime, the one that made us feel safe, the white rose slips from my hand, as they fill in the hole, my heart is burried deep with you, how can a man loved by so many, commit suicide? how can a man just not think, a daughters love never saved him, guess it was never enough i still feel you around, your in all of us kids from phils smile to damos walk, to my chin i love you, my hero
Emily Clark

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War Child

I wake up in the morning to the cries of hurt and anger
I wished I’d wake up to cries of joy and laughter
I wake up every morning hoping it will all be gone
But the fighting the war has only just begun
I’d play out in my mind that I could beg for them to stop just for a while
But no! What do they care I’m just a war child

I’d go to sleep every night with the fear of not being able to last another day
Oh please please help this child many would say
But deep down I know those peoples urgent call
Will be returned with bombs shooting or nothing at all
The shock that they turn to shooting even if you smile
Is abhorrent but what do they care I’m just a war child

I’d hope for a place to truly call home
But how can it be with all the peace and harmony gone
It hurts and pains to know the people doing this have neither regret nor remorse
But instead curfews and more undeserved punishment is what they’ve enforced
Enemies upon us our country reviled
But what do they care I’m just a war child

I’d cry puddles full of tears day to day
Hoping someone my mummy or even my daddy come by say its ok
But no one will ever care I’m just a war child.

© Lamzii

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