A LETTER TO AN IRAQI MOTHER

This letter was written just after the war in Iraq commenced - I had protested by letter, email and by marching with thousands of people against this,  and as a Mother I wondered how I would be able to comfort my children.  My own children were grown but were distressed and I could feel the pain that so many Mothers must have been feeling.

A LETTER TO AN IRAQI MOTHER

Dear Iraqi Mother,

As your children go to sleep

Do you cover them and wonder,

And do you stand and weep?

Does fear race through your mind

And is your Mother heart so sore

As you try to explain to them

The reasons for this war?

I am a Mother too

With little ones at my knee,

And I am very troubled

With this picture that I see.

It is so wrong and painful

And shattering to the core!

We are caught in the middle

Of another senseless war.

Your children must be frightened

And struggling to go on,

What will be the effect on them

When this battle is done?

I wish that I could hold them

And chase away their fears,

I wish that I could be with you

To wipe away your tears.

I carry you in my heart

From this side of the World,

And pray that soon we both shall see

Freedoms peaceful flag unfurled.

© Linda J. Vaughan

Sunday 23^rd. March 2003