Friday 19 July 2013

Child Soldier

Once upon a time I saw a child soldier
Interviewed on TV
From Sierra Leone or from Liberia
Armed and ready to please.

Oh, he was quite a soldier
With a gun in his hand
And a machete on his belt
With which he’d chopped off hands and heads.

Oh, he was quite a soldier
And smiled for the TV
Saying, yes, sah, I did all those things,
Because my commadah ordered me.

Oh he was quite a soldier
Smiling and so ready to please
If you smiled back, he’d go to hell for you
If he wasn’t already there.

Once upon a time I saw a child soldier
Smiling on TV
And I turned the channels, and elsewhere
A child sold soap to me.

Copyright B Purkayastha 2013




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