I look out the window
Enjoying the peace and quiet
The day has brought
The beauty of my surroundings
And the peace of mind it brings
Then reality is shattered
I turn on the television
Victims everywhere
Innocent children
Some have lost their lives
Some their parents
Some lose a limb
I sit and wonder
What is it like
To never play outside
To never color with crayons
Dance in the rain
Hang upside down in a tree
Wrestle with your sibling
Thoughts like these
Seem so simple to us
Something we take for granted
These things which seem small to us
Are not to these children
The ones who sit in fear
Hide in the corner
Fall asleep to sound
Instead of silence
Sounds of gunfire, soldiers, fear
The children who sit away
In distant lands
Dreaming of hope
Longing for peace
And living
On the wings of prayer

---

A moment in time
Violence carries the children
The young hold guns
The old turn in fear
Children kill one another
Schools burn
Educators are silenced
Gangs rule
Innocence is lost
Anger is placed
Disobedience is rampant
Respect is gone
Love is no longer smitten
A world where kindness dwelled
Is now harbored by rage

---

I am 29 years old and live in Austin, Texas with myPit Bull terrier Dexter and my two land turtles George and Flower.  My given name is Krystina, but everyone calls me Krys.  I have been writing off and on most of my life. I just started to take it more seriously in the last couple of years. I am completing my first and second chapbooks, which will be out soon, and have started work on my third.