The Lives of Children Part 2: Art from Ashes

Poem and story from Art From Ashes -a non-profit that helps struggling teens and young adults find peace in creativity: http://www.artfromashes.org/category/youth-creativity/

It's amazing how much pain and how much beauty one soul can hold.

Paper Moon

by Hibaq Osman, 17

Under the paper moon

She thinks she has the basics

But then a demon grabs her dreams

And makes a break for it

It’s a simple equation

Dreams and creation

I’m in love with the person I haven’t been

And that one place I’ve never lived

Please tell me how you can lead a life of 17 years and never live

Chained to a chain link fence

Woven by the hearts which you’ve torn from their place

It’s not a ‘whatever you think it is,’ darling It’s an arms race

And I swear, I scream at the top of my lungs

I swear

I will make a change to this world

I will change the voice of freedom

Bestow power amongst the girls

And I’ll make it to where color doesn’t matter

And race is just a four letter word

Where being queer is not weird

Where homophobia is absurd

Where society links arms with the misfit toys

And welcomes them to their island

Where the raped girl doesn’t cry when she sees her young boy

Because she wished his father’s actions didn’t define him

I swear

These faulty pieces do not define us

I swear the skies are so clear on the other side

I swear the sun will wake you up from this nightmare

And say “It’s okay honey, you don’t have to hide.

You’re absolutely fine right by my side”

'Hibaq unwaveringly continued telling me about her story. She said she has been in and out of treatment facilities for the past THREE YEARS. I tiptoed around sensitive issues but she, on the other hand, stood tall and told the truth. She is a recovering drug addict: cocaine, molly, acid, everything but what she referred to as “the hard stuff.” She would develop mental disorders due to her drug use as well as engage in self-harming behavior. I jotted down that she had been exceptionally abused by her uncle from the age of 4. Immediately after I wrote that, Hibaq noticed and corrected me: “sexually abused, not exceptionally abused.”'