somewhere in a darkened room
probably on the floor
or worse a hard bed
two hundred and
eighty-four
schoolgirls are waiting
to die
to live
to be rescued
somewhere they are crying and praying
and two hundred and
eighty-four mothers
sleep every night
if they can
with lost voices in their heads
some time they may never see again
.
and somewhere in the Midwest
a third-grade girl is lying dark
in a hospital bed
blind
glass shards from a drive-by
and waiting
to see
to heal
somewhere in her head is a cry
and we pray
somewhere her mother
sleeps every night
if she can
with the picture in her head
of a girl with two eyes
some time she may never see again
.
and somewhere there is another girl
and another
victims of bullying
incest
abuse
neglect
and where do the next mothers come from
if we can’t
bring back our girls?
some we may never see again
Ramblings of a Ragamuffin Child 