A Time Without War

I am seventeen and I cannot remember a time without war.

 

I am seventeen and I can not remember a time without a causality toll on my sidebar or a suicide bomber on my television.

 

I am seventeen and I cannot remember a time without men with badges and camouflage jumpsuits coming to my school to recruit a new generation of children who were born to die in “glory”.

 

I am seventeen and I cannot remember a time without words callously thrown around, as if they were unimportant and only to be expected: my uncle died in Iraq, my father is in Iran, my friend’s mother died in 9/11, God bless their souls. And God, where is your God now?

 

I am seventeen and I cannot remember a time when pride in one’s country did not relate directly to Bush’s “war on terror”.

 

I am seventeen and I cannot remember a time when I didn’t notice the looks my father got in airports. I cannot remember a time when it wasn’t important that my skin was brown.

 

I am seventeen and I have heard my mother say, “We did not leave the house for a few weeks after 9/11. It wasn’t safe. People were still healing, honey. Why should we provoke them?”

 

I am only seventeen. But I have lived a lifetime of war. And this war?

 

It’s taking its toll on me.

 

I am not seventeen. Not anymore.

Reviews

[RainQueen]

"only seventeen." nearly unimaginable that this depth of wisdom, clear-eyed perspective could come from so few years. However, when we consider the content of your powerful piece, a young woman who has never known national peace, it makes more sense.

We stole your childhood from you, didn't we? No, I didn't demand the oil lying under that sand, but we didn't cry out nearly loudly enough against it. Perhaps if we had, you and my own children could have known what it is like to live in a country not engaged in wholesale killing.

Phenomenal piece. I thank you for sharing it.

[MOON]

Powerfully written and heartfelt.

[Silent Raven]

Amazing. You have a gift, a very beautiful gift. Never stop writing.

[wildspiritontheloose]

Powerful. Only way to describe this. Very much so. It's got a certain rhythm to it that makes it almost a poem, not a story. The last three lines definitely drive your point home. It's important to write about this, make people aware. Reading this really made me open my eyes to the world and realize that yes, all of the things you mentioned are true, no matter where you live. Amazing work, I hope you keep writing!