I Imagine

can you imagine yourself a young girl from Nighastan? who is thirteen, and never stepped foot in regular school? toiling day and night, taking care of siblings and housework, her smile reminds of fresh-bloomed rose, no cameras capture. can you imagine yourself a young boy from Labonga, works in a factory for hours and hours since he was eight? he is still respectful and humble, polite and thankful, happy as a lark if sometimes he gets to fly a kite. wish we were supremely gorgeous princes and princesses, wearing sparkling gucci outfits, flying in private jets - (talking how to support the poverty-stricken third world) we watch their lavish weddings, their destination travels, and secretly sigh for extravagant life we don't have! met some of those amazingly courageous boys and girls, who do not complain about their uneventful tough lives, they accept their hardest journey with humble compliance - thank god sincerely for their meager plainest possessions! I imagine - if I had the power to change the world, I would make their world blissful. surrounded by purest joy, I would hold her dainty hand, and pore over fairy tales, I would run without bounds in the open field with the boy. those children would teach me to be grateful with simplest things, and to smile joyful smile which nobody can ever snatch. Poet's Notes: The poem is written on the model of Shakesperean sonnet (14 syllables in each line - exception being there are four Quatrains instead of three). January 23, 2021 For "Can You Imagine" Poetry Contest Sponsor: Constance La France