History

You learn the numbers and the names
  But not the faces.
You learn the events and the places
  But not the lives.
You learn how countries were affected
    How governments rose and fell  
    How economies prospered and failed
  But not how communities were destroyed
    How people were tortured and humiliated
    How families were torn apart.
You learn the strategies and the plans of the leaders
  But you don't appreciate the magnitude of the cost
      to the people.
You learn of the victories and the defeats of nations
  But you don't see the hopes and the fears
    of men and women unsure of living another day
      or of seeing a loved one again
    of children growing up all too quickly --
      or not at all.
You learn what happened to the world
  But you don't see the pain
                    the suffering
                    the insensitivity
                    the cruelty
    of individuals.


Katy King
23 Oct 94