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Child Soldiers This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine.


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Their eyes tell silent stories.
Stories that would shock even the darkest of hearts.
These eyes have seen worse than some could even dream of.
They’ve seen killing and death, and pain and suffering to extents that can be hard to imagine.
Eyes that should be learning how to read are instead being taught how to fight.
Emotionless eyes are being forced to kill in gruesome ways.
Eyes that seem to have run out of tears, because crying never helped.
Their sobs are unheard, their tears are unseen.
Children who are innocent are being ruined by men who see no hope in their government.
Men who are willing to take advantage of an irreplaceable innocence.
The eyes are deep brown.
A brown so deep you could get lost in it.
Eyes that catch attention for their beauty.
They silently tell of innocence lost and of silent tears cried.
These are the eyes of a child soldier.

This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.





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GhoshyThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Dec. 25, 2012 at 4:53 pm:
I think this poem would be better as a short story. However, the descriptions really created a sad picture in my mind.
 
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Origami_Giraffe said...
Oct. 19, 2012 at 12:41 pm:
  I'm sorry to say this, but this really does not sound like a poem. It sounds like a paragraph you decided to space out and attempt to pass as free verse. One of the main points of poetry is that it's a way to treat language like a toy rather than a tool. This is the format where you're allowed to ignore the normal rules of writing, but not only do you not bother to get creative with the writing, you treat the rules like they're still necessary. Each 1-3 lines is a comple... (more »)
 
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sadesddThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 5, 2012 at 1:26 pm:
The subject of this poem is something I've thought long on. The author did such an amazing job capturing the true feeling of losing child innocence because of people that don't care.
 
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Sabers30This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Sept. 18, 2012 at 4:47 pm:
I love this poem. It is really sad but so true. It really makes you think about how good of a life we have compared to them. 
 
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sierradelrae16This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Sept. 18, 2012 at 8:24 am:
I love it! It's inspiring and encouraging!:)
 
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sierradelrae16This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Sept. 18, 2012 at 8:23 am:
I love this poem. Yes it may be sad, however it let's us have an insight on how they were feeling. It shows that they are strong and courageous.:)
 
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Ga-GahKayMarieThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Aug. 13, 2012 at 11:55 pm:
I read a lot of bad comments but I must say they are wrong I liked this poem it was raw and written to me nicely, I dont know how qualified I am to judge but I liked it :)
 
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albinotiger said...
Jun. 24, 2012 at 8:40 am:
wow its sad, true, and inspireing.
 
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Daniii said...
May 31, 2012 at 4:37 pm:
Super inspirational. So well written!
 
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Adi-heid said...
May 9, 2012 at 2:53 pm:
This is so amazing! I really love it!
 
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Katie-joThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
May 9, 2012 at 2:50 pm:
Awesome! Loved it!
 
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squirreljedi said...
May 9, 2012 at 10:29 am:
WOW! This poem is amazing. Really puts things in perspective
 
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Gothica295 said...
May 9, 2012 at 10:01 am:

Very amazing poem! <3 Sad, though.

My English class just finished reading a book about a child soldier. Have you ever read A Long Way Gone?

 
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rainbowmermaidThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
May 8, 2012 at 12:09 pm:
amazing but sad i read about child soldiers and it made me cry so this was hard to read
 
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kiwi said...
May 3, 2012 at 12:52 pm:
you got some geat creative idioms!!!!!!!!! and how u used your metaptor!!!! awsome job!
 
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JMuglia said...
Apr. 17, 2012 at 5:10 pm:
Wow, that was amazing! I loved the detail you added and the emotions you put into the poem. The word choice was perfect.
 
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maddyhatterThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Apr. 17, 2012 at 12:04 pm:
i havent cried in nearly a year but that just started the waterworks
 
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AlliterationAceThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Apr. 17, 2012 at 11:32 am:
I hate to think about what those little kids must go through... Their childhood gets ripped from their grasp. Someone needs to put atop to it. And your words are making an impact. Keep up the good work.
 
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AnimalLover2 said...
Mar. 26, 2012 at 7:09 pm:
Beautiful poem
 
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Let-Love-In said...
Feb. 14, 2012 at 4:17 pm:
touching, i'm almost in tears. no child should have to experience that. but an amazing poem.
 
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