We were just kids
Playing adults
Smoking cheap cigarettes
By the river
Running around
Hitting each other
Laughing and crying
Having fun.
We were just kids
Sitting by the river
Waiting to
Grow up.
Then came the war
The war stole from us
Our childhood
Our cheap cigarettes
Our walks by the river.
It stole from us
Our innocence
Our festivals
Our families.
We watched our friends
Being taken away
We watched our houses
Go up in flames
We watched families
Torn away from us.
We were just children
With lost childhood
And shattered dreams
And broken bones
And generational trauma
Waiting for the war to end.