.
Silhouettes of Life

A child bright as
a burning candle
dimmed by hateful parents
resentful that he has
what they could not.

A group of people
taught to hate
because they themselves
were hated once.

Silhouettes of the lives
that could have been
shadowed by the lives
that are to be.

A young woman
smart and witty
made to feel dumb
from all the pressure
not from her peers
but from herself.

A nation torn in half
all for petty reasons
brother against brother
most know not why they fight.

Silhouettes of the lives
that could have been
shadowed by the lives
that are to be.

Children dead before they lived.
Elders forced to retire in their prime.
All this to maintain the
"Status Quo"

Ideas forgotten at once
never to be voiced
all for fear
of rejection and ridicule.
Little girl never
learns to speak.

Silhouettes of the lives
that could have been
shadowed by the lives
that are to be.
--By Jamie Erdman aka Poetsoul