The school cafeteria lay empty
Empty chairs tucked under the empty tables
And sunlight shone over the dust covered room
Look at the cafeteria
A rambunctious cheer rings through the air
A group of boys huddled around a table
Watching Mo Salah score a goal
The excited buzz among the students
About the new game that just came out
And in the corner reads a quiet girl
With her lunch untouched
Do you hear
The clatter of coins being exchanged
For the student’s favorite pizza?
Or the sloshing of water in the mop bucket
As the caretaker hums along and cleans?
And if you listen closely,
You may even hear
The dreams of the future
A future artist
A future doctor
A future engineer
A future teacher
A future… adult
All sit in this room full of life
Which dares to exist
In a war torn world
And is now empty
In this war torn world
Empty
The cheers, the laughter, the daydreams
Empty
The sweet little hopes, the comforts,
The dreams that never bore fruit
Empty
The cafeteria lays still and empty
Like a mother who could never birth her children
Faiza 