We were due to talk to again acquaint
Updates, concerns—I had my life to share
But I soon forgot my first-world complaints
When she gave me a glimpse of life back there
Gone was her school, her fun, her innocence
The days kept her up – the nights held no sleep
Her eyes of nine had seen every offence
And still they saw…while mine could only weep
But her heart was strong, and it gave her life,
And she then dried my tears with some verses
But when I thought to those who’d caused her strife
No words could I bring forth—save some curses
Yet I forget things worse in this violence
Like how dare I point…and blame another
My sin…is my tongue…and my own silence
And that I could call…myself…her… brother…
Umar Qadri is an MS2 who states, “I wrote this poem during the end of first-year and start of second, because I felt so consumed—almost selfishly—in my own studying and future. All around the world, even in Durham, there are so many innocents whose daily struggles are far more real, who suffer without even the basic dignities of life. This is a reflection to them, who are my motivation for pursuing medicine and whose lives, God-Willing, I hope to one day better.”
