Flicker - By: Sarah Asmali

Flicker… As light sounds

Go to sleep with the branches snap

The fire sizzles in fury of the night

The wind howls as they clap

Flicker…For the joyous creak

A happiness none of you speak

The greek fire shall be your future

Yet we ignore the flickers weak

Flicker….Like the napalm

The one we used for war

The one who shall set the bomb

Be calm they say

Then they're the first one at of the door

Flicker…As they wake up

In fear, horror, a feeling we can't tell

We must help those in need

Those children in need

And yet we wish them farewell

Flicker…Call them the greek fire

Say they light the spark

Those children, our future

Keep it all in the dark

Flicker…We shall speak for them

We shall stand

We shall do anything but die

And talk, and move

But we’ll float in their destiny

All in their bright sky

Flicker….The fire burns out

The bomb goes out

The spark is gone

And so is our doubt.

Please give a detailed explanation about the meaning and main idea of this poem.

The main idea of this poem to intensify those who are in chaos by fire or dont even have the right to sleep at night. It is to clarify and to support children in need who are blamed for others mistakes and those who got their back turned upon. It is to summarize what we have been doing all this time for them which isn't even the bare minimum.

Please explain your writing and thought process regarding this poem.

My writing and thought process for this was to use a sort of confusion in the start to talk about the idea of the poem vaguely until the middle, which then I intensified the idea of war and their mistakes. I then wanted to give recognition to those I was supporting so I mentioned the children in need. I ended the poem with the sad reality of our short attention span of doubts being gone.

Why did you choose to write this poem?

To spread awareness to the children we once promised would be our future even if it isn't going to do much or if we aren't going to do much those in need at least deserve to be thought of.

Do you have any tips or anything to share with the youth writers who may be reading this?

As Bertrand Russell once said

“War does not determine who is right — only who is left.”