Out of the Mouths of Babes

You would be amazed at what goes on in the minds of our children. When I thought my daughter was only thinking about her Barbie dolls and hanging with her friends, she had more important things on her mind. The piece below was written by her at age 11 when she was in the fifth grade. After entering it in a writing contest, was named the Georgia winner and sent on a trip to Washington DC to visit the White House as well as meeting with the Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey. 

Save the Children by Ambrea Clark

A child is born 
both innocent and pure,
But this diseased world is full of drugs and violence
Can we find a cure?
Oh, I don’t know,
It’s kind of hard to tell.
When so many of our youths are getting killed
And thrown in jail.
Why is this happening?
What could it be?
Maybe it’s trickling down from the family tree.
Papa would yell and fight day and night
So when brother and sister grew up
They thought it was right
Daddy has no job
And your friends call you poor
Because they see mama beggin’ from door to door.
So brother decides he has to be a man, and takes a crazy ride
Down to the corner store – bang, bang, bang
Now he runs and hides.
But not so far that he couldn’t get caught, 
it happened rather fast, 
it happened suddenly,
there wasn’t any time for thought.
He didn’t mean to hurt anyone, 
but Mama needed cash
‘Cause baby needed food and Pampers
There were no questions to be asked.
Peer pressure in our school is growing 
More and more each day.
They tell you, “Smoke this cigarette, and drink that beer,
Go ahead, it’s ok”.
But don’t do it, it’s wrong 
and will cause all kinds of stress.
Just say “no” keep your head up, 
and don’t follow the rest.
So why should I care, you might ask.
How have drugs and violence affected my life?
Well, listen closely for a moment 
and I’ll tell you why.
No man is an island this quote is very true
Because in the end we’re all affected
By what the others do
Bars on the windows, locks on the doors, 
Random searches in the halls.
Metal detectors at the entrance of school
And policemen being called
A child is born both innocent and pure.
What can I do about violence?
Well, I’m not really sure.
But every night before I sleep,
I get on my knees and pray.
I ask God up above to help us find a way
To stop the violence, to stop the crimes
The poverty and hunger too, 
to make the world a better place
To live for me and you.