I Heard the Tears of a Mother

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Nicole Barr is a volunteer with Refugee Voices who has kindly shared her poetry with us to show her support for the refugee community.

Nic has 20 years of experience working with people in health, education and welfare. She specialises in therapeutic practice and is focused on achieving outcomes with empathy and professionalism.

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A Call for Mercy, Eight Years

It has been so long,

Apart from my children,

Can you imagine how this feels?

Everyday you miss

Your son, who you cannot kiss,

For his birthday.

And every single day

Your heart is broken.

Dear woman can you hear what I say?

My emotions are hurting, because of a policy,

Written without any human sense

Can somebody hear our plea

You have us on our knees,

We call for Mercy

We are Mothers, Fathers, Doctors, Farmers,

With suffering thrown upon us,

We have Sons and Daughters, Brothers and Sisters,

We live, we breathe,

We cry, we bleed,

Searching for freedom and seeking peace in this world, our world.

It has been eight years,

We are more than this cruel legacy.

We call for Mercy.

I Heard the Tears of a Mother

Have you ever cried through the night,

In pain,

Feeling that your child is slipping away,

Still.

With your life that must go on.

Do you long to hold your child?

And give them comfort, love and safety?

Do you dream of your child?

Just to be near?

I heard the tears of a Mother

As she pleaded for sense,

A beautiful strong Mother,

Who pleaded for human sense.

Have you ever had emotion,

So fierce within your heart,

You watch every single day go by,

You plea to the skies, not to be apart.

You live in wonder of what will happen, now you only dare to hope.

If you start to lose hope,

Remember.

To feel, to hold, to laugh, to scream,

To walk, to talk, to smile, to dream,

Hear, feel.

To remember that place in your heart, no one can ever take away,

That is the love of a Mother, I heard this in the tears of a Mother.