For every child born craving and abandoned
every child whose belly bulged with emptiness
every child who cried alone in a bare white room
every child wounded by a father, uncle, grandfather
every child told to pick up guns against other children
every child who worked below dank ground
every child shaken, burned, bruised:
for every child who has ever endured,
may an infinite army of children march
across bridges, invade cities, skulk in forests,
steal into beds, cram rivers, swarm roads,
the sound of small-footed multitudes a rageful roar
growing louder and louder until one great unceasing howl
cracks open this unspeakable earth to swallow
those who ever hurt a single child.
Robin Dellabough is a poet, editor and writer. Her poems have appeared in numerous small press publications, and she has written, edited and contributed to more than sixty books. She lives in Irvington, N.Y.