A poem dedicated to the victims of the Darfur Genocide

The ground catches another body

Another victim,

Another…dead

The ‘POP’ of guns

The bloody flash of sudden fire

“Mama, Papa, Where are you?”

A lonely child yells

Her bare feet slap the ground

As she runs away

Her stomach growls

Her charred hair scorches her face

Her chocolate skin bleeding red

The sandy wind stings her face

As she searches through her village

Just yesterday, was full of life and love

But now, no life remains

Now, painted in blood

Blood of her parents,

Blood of her sisters and brothers

Blood of her people

“Mama, Papa, Where have you gone?”

As a lonely child sees

Men with guns and swords,

On horses, in cars,

Men that aren’t afraid

Men that murder,

Rape,

…Hate.

Other day,

Another village

Another 500 dead

But another will survive

And another will see

Through a child’s eyes.

Leslie Harrison is a 14 year old girl from Louisville, Kentucky. She has raised hundreds of dollars for the International Rescue Committee and the Save Darfur Coalition by making and selling Dolls for Darfur pins. Thousands of people like her have supported the Dolls for Darfur project since the project’s inception in 2004.