All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
Memories of a Boy Soldier
Sudan, I can no longer hide my tears
Too many lives were shed, families destroyed
and homes still flaming, drowning the sounds of babies crying.
When I was little, I did not know
There could be so much violence amongst our own people,
We who had never asked much of God.
We seldom ate to our hunger
But at the time all that mattered to me was that
I could feel my mother’s smooth skin as she nursed my head
When they came it was like the Nile River
Was full of rage destroying everything in its path
But I was clueless of what was yet to come.
The men in uniform barged in every home
Planning their next move thirsty for something
To take to laugh at our soufrance
At that point I knew something was wrong because
Father was rarely late to come home and would always
Carry a smile on his face and praise me for being strong.
But I was no longer strong. I knew in my heart
That my father had perished that day and my brothers
And sister depended on me but I was too weak.
I started sobbing hoping for them to stop the damage
But they were pleased at my tears and to make me stop gave me the local aradaib
In my insignificant mouth which had never tasted anything but my mother’s milk
That day was also the day I had witnessed something
Children my age should have never seen which I am still
In awe. The devil was coming and there was no stopping him.
The death of my siblings whose blood incorporated with the
Desert sand was incomparable to my mother’s
Downfall by the grown men in cargo pants.
I didn’t know where to turn. I was almost certain that
I was going to die but by some miracle the soldiers were
Not interested in my death
They took all the tough boys in the village
And made us line up from youngest to oldest
Whipping those too feeble to stand straight
This was the day I became a man and today
I am one of those soldiers who killed
My brothers, my sisters, my father and my mother
There will never be hope for my people
And I am nothing but a traitor so I might as well kill myself
To meet once again, my family, in the great heaven above if
Ever God forgives me.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 1 comment.
6 articles 0 photos 2 comments