#TNTML Presents: The Child Soldier by @ezrabutler

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @EzraButler

This is about a newly homeless boy that asked me for a "nickel or penny" last night.

With manners,
he said “Thank you”,
as his mother taught him well.

Covered
in pictures that told a story.

Telegraphing sorrow
I could not decipher,
in a language I fluently understood.

A new recruit,
an anonymous soldier in a growing army,
forced by circumstance to march,
clutching his world possessions,
into the dark unknown.

He requested a pittance,
coupled with an apology,
as it was his fault
he was conscripted.

A casualty of war,
a prisoner of reality,
a child abandoned
rejected
and expelled because of fear and hate.

With pure eyes,
he said “Thank you”,
as his mother taught him well.

Click here to follow Ezra on Twitter: @EzraButler