I know there is a world out there, beyond the depression and anger,

I know there is a world beyond my frozen barriers, beyond the anxiety,

I know there is a world beyond the green, blue, and blood stained map, beyond the fighting,

I know there is a world beyond the tear-flooded streets, beyond the displeasure,

I know there is a world beyond the child’s cries that echo in the distance, beyond the fear,

I know there is a world beyond the cloudy skies,

I know there is a world beyond the war,

I know there is a world,

I am afraid of the desolation and animosity,

I am afraid of the barriers that are unbreakable,

I am afraid of the raindrops that have turned to crimson roses,

I am afraid of the streets and of the voices that yell in the evening,

I am afraid of the gray monsters that suffocate the sun,

I am afraid of bloodshed,

But I know there is a world,

I wish for euphoria,

I wish for open doors,

I wish for grassy hillsides and dirt mounds to leap above,

I wish for laughter,

I wish for rainbows subsequent to thunder,

I wish for peace and prosperity,

I wish for white roses,

I know there is a world,

I know there is a world because my feet have grazed its surface,

My eyes have seen it crumble,

My nose has smelled the smoke and fire,

My ears have heard the screams, whispers, and pleads,

My hands have touched its burns,

My face has felt the drops of rain falling from a sky absent from the sun,

I know there is a world,

Sometimes, I wonder what went wrong,

I wonder when the sun no longer shined