KIDS AND CARTOONS IN A TIME OF WAR

Boom! The bomb went off
And the boy, who was on his way to school,
watched
As his right leg flew across the road
Watched it somersault over and over
And fall somewhere over there
He tried to yell, to tell someone

Then a man was tying something tight
High up on his leg
He grabbed the man's arm, but
Was told to stay calm
That they would take care of him.
He wondered if his leg knew
He was still there, and wanted it back.

There was so much noise
Men yelling about cartoons and Denmark and Allah and Mohammad
Sirens were screaming, a baby was crying.

They strapped him to a board
And again he tried to tell them
That his leg was across the road
But the man said: "No, no,
You were injured right here, not across the road
Don't be silly, your leg is here somewhere
But we'll never find it in all this mess
You're in shock."

Then he spoke to the one helping him, and said:
"Poor boy, he thinks
His leg flew to the other side of the road
He must be hysterical with pain
Here's the ambulance now, let's get him in."

As it took him away,
One man punched the other on the shoulder,
And said:
"How did the leg get to the other side of the road?
Why, it flew there all by itself. Ha, ha, ha ha
Poor kid, he was seeing things."

As the boy rode in the ambulance
He tried to speak - even thought he was speaking
But the attendant heard nothing
Just moans and a whispered,
"Mama, bapa mama bapa mama."

- Mary Billy, Canada