This war sheds no blood nor destruction
This war isn’t loud and messy and dangerous
This war is something everyone signs up for
Willingly or not; you aren’t granted a choice
This war has no weapons or fierceness
Nor does anyone perish so brutally
There are no conditions; whether you’re the right size
Your gender, your age—nothing
You join this war a few years after mere birth
The only weapon, if you could call it that, is the mind.
You need the mind, the pen, the paper, the confidence
Further, time will never be on your side of this war
You need to fight it, conquer it and surpass it
The stillness, the tension, the infrequent silence
One may drop a needle, and it will seem like a boom of thunder
You are alone in this war—completely and entirely
You battle alone, you share your trouble with no one but yourself
Attempting to get it done with and be free
What you long for; the weight lifting from your shoulders
Some simply care less and just wait for time to end
Others make it through, battling every obstacle
They pray that time slows down, so they may be on time
The war is not, mercifully, everlasting
To some, it may — to most, it may not
But the war always comes to you, without ever failing
Try to hide, but war will never not find you
Brave it out, think it through and you will make it
Endless hours of preparation, the key for the end of the war
But oh, the boredom, you just can’t take it
And believe me, I’ve tried to bear it…but it is one thing impossible
When you fight, and you will, you hope in the end it’s all right
Believing that you can do anything if you put your mind to it
Preparing with the strength and the strong-willed mind
You will feel on top of the world when this war is over
And if you prepared correctly, you only have fear to fear
Pray long enough for the war to end, and someday, it will
The war everyone’s fought… the war the majority disliked…
The STUDY WAR.
Binadie Ratnayake,
Grade 8-J,
Lyceum International School, Nugegoda.