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Symphony of War
by Komal A, Mississauga, Canada, Age 14

Crash, boom, bang,
That’s the symphony I shall hear forevermore,
Oh, but what a sad symphony it is,
This will stay when I sleep,
And come back when I wake,
And give me,
Dreams that are all the more horrible,
Provoking me to do something I shan’t imagine,
How these instruments destruct,
In this war,
Of complete,
Idiocy,
Aggression,
Greed,
Oh there’s a bang,
These grenades,
How they destroy,
The once beautiful forest,
That thrived here,
But that is now a long gone place,
Set only in those,
Who should imagine with vain,
And then there are the bombs,
Tearing,
Ripping,
Dissecting people,
Who have done nothing,
To deserve,
Or earn,
This punishment,
Oh erase it God,
Erase this symphony of screams,
Cries for help,
And mourns,
Erase them,
This pain strikes the heart,
A thousand many times worse,
Than that of being killed whilst at war,
Make it go,
It suffocates,
It drowns me,
In this sea of pain,
How many more lives,
Will be lost?
If this is to continue,
Then dear Lord,
I am ready to leave this life,
For it brings no joy,
But only insufferable pain,
Through the symphony I shall hear forevermore,
Crash, boom, bang,
How people endure,
Watching others go,
Slowly,
Painfully,
If this is punishment,
For sins I have committed,
I have learned my lesson,
But I want out,
I came to defend,
But I shall leave,
From hell,
Oh if this is life,
I daren’t think how hell would be,
For there is nothing worse,
Than burning,
Burning in desire,
For home,
For family,
Burning in pain,
Of death,
Oh stop this Great War,
Have you not seen enough,
So now God I pray,
I pray that someday,
Somehow,
This greed,
This aggression,
This want for power,
For control,
Will leave us,
I pray that someday,
Someway,
This shadow should cease to exist in this world,
And we shall see,
And realize,
How beautiful,
The rays of light from friendship,
Care, love, share,
Peace and harmony are,
For I cannot see,
How anyone should like to look upon,
People dieing,
Crying,
Suffering,
Mourning,
Suffocating,
The way they are,
In this oh so deadly,
Poisonous war,
Oh stop it,
Stop it,
Stop it,
Stop this symphony,
This symphony that haunts,
The dead and the living,
Cease this,
Symphony of war!