Rushda Shamsi

Child during the Sudanese conflict  Picture downloaded from the internet;  all rights belong to the owner I wish to fast for Ramadan   Instead  I am starving due to war. I wish to burst crackers  Instead hear bombs.  I wish to play hide and seek with my friends, Instead I am hiding from gunmen. I wish to celebrate festivals  Instead I am grieving my family’s death. I wish to play with toys Instead I am a toy for the government.  I wish to play Instead I’m being played I wish to hold a toy gun Instead I’m given a real gun  I wish to wear new clothes  Instead I’m ripped of my old ones as well I wish to have delicacies  Instead I don’t have basic food  I wish to lead a normal life  Instead I don’t have a life  I wish to live  Instead I’m hoping to die -Rushda Shamsi 

Picture downloaded from the internet; All rights belong to the owner They shamed her, ‘Ugly’ they named her, Fat she was called, And that was not even her fault. In a world full of perfection, She fell under the ‘fat’ section, Bullying was their profession, She sinked into depression. At night she cried, Till the tears dried, She craved to be called a beauty, To tell her, fat she was, they thought it was their duty. They were plastic, The next step she took was drastic, She picked up the knife, To end her life. She shut her eyes, To her loved ones she silently apologised. -Rushda Shamsi