Children are our greatest but not always our most appreciated resource. Unfortunately, our awareness of their resilience often leads us to take for granted and to abuse their capacity to endure. This gives rise to a cycle which, hopefully, is not destined to repeat itself indefinitely. |
ONLY CHILDREN AFTER RAIN
I watch the film but I can't see Beyond the child refugee Who never made the news at all. And as the uniforms parade She takes her hand down from her face To see the mighty men of war.
At twelve years old he goes to school In faded jeans and faded youth And memories he can't forget. His father's dead - his brother blames The UVF, the IRA Or some such piece of alphabet.
They're only children after rain A single face a thousand names A silent voice to count the cost. They're only children after rain A photograph without a frame A crucifix without a cross.
In the frightened eyes of a lonely child With no lullabies and no nursery rhymes Just another tear to fall across another face We plant the seed and the seed will grow We come to reap what we came to sow And we wonder at it all and will it ever change. Now she laughs – now she cries She takes it in and she takes her time And I can see tomorrow in her eyes.
I watch the show most every day But as I turn to walk away I always feel I missed the end. I stay behind, the crowd is gone. I read the cast, the lights come on But was it really just pretend?
They're only children after rain A single face a thousand names A silent voice to count the cost. They're only children after rain A photograph without a frame A crucifix without a cross. |