Innocence

International Politics and conflicts had delayed the response to their needs. I was proud of my country which was sending 60,000 metric tons of corn, Sending it to a country with which it was still at war. I was there with Amigos Internacionales to help monitor the distribution, with Mercy Corps, World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, and Care International. I could not sleep that night, so I wrote a poem to express my heart. A poem about a child I call “Innocence”.

Innocence.  by Dr. John LaNoue

They did not ask to be born.

They did not want to die,

But like the ticking of the clock their little bodies drop!

In their mother’s arms they were before,

Now their little arms are too weak to hold her anymore.

On this earth their little feet will walk no more,

For they are gone…

Their deaths were caused by the actions of some,

But just as condemning, by the inaction of others!

Yes, my little boy Innocence is gone!

And my personal innocence is gone!

No longer can I plead ignorance of their plight,

Boney limbs, bloated bellies…Oh, what a sight!

Their hollow faces and pleading eyes, silently cry,

“Please help me sir, or I will surely die!”

Oh, how can I sit through meetings about who will control what,

Or discussions of what theological theory is really hot,

When, like the ticking of a clock,

My heart still hears their little bodies drop!