Poems for Peace Competition: read Sayandeep Das's Highly Commended poem.

A Tree In The Bloom

She has always remembered
The day she left her soul behind
In a land
Torn with violence and war…
She left her life —
Almoud, Mia and other children she played with
Down the street ….
She couldn’t see straight
Her eyes were blurred with tears
With the memories of the terrible days.

She remembered how she had to leave her world
In the darkness of the night …
She remembered the hunger and the silent tears
Her parents had only to offer…
She remembered the cramped boat
And the violent waves
Making her and her brother sick
As if God had finally turned his wrath on humanity.
But she also remembered the
Comfort of her mother’s lap
Hug of her little brother
And Sunshine, sea spray
And the sea gulls.

She remembered reaching the land…
Land full of promise
And her parents full of hope
But it was all muddled in confusion
that her little mind could cope.

Time passed by…
Life went on.
She and her family survived
Like a little plant survives at the crags…
The little girl has grown into a young woman
Busy with her own life.

But at night
In the depth of her sleep
The little girl still comes back to haunt her….
A little girl scared of the violence
In a far-away land
A little girl who never knew
Why she had to leave
Her homeland, her friends
And her dusty little happy world.
A little girl who never knew
What happened to her friends and families…
A little girl who smiled
With tears in her eyes
To see the little tree she planted
In her new world
To come into blooms.

Sayandeep Das
12 Years Old
King Edward’s School, Birmingham