Shadows of Innocence

(This poem is dedicated to the countless girls and women forced into prostitution against their will.)                   

                            ☆☆

In dim-lit rooms where silence weeps,

Where shattered dreams lie buried deep,
They walk, the girls with haunted eyes,
Their laughter veiled, their spirits tied.

Once cradled in the arms of love,
They dreamt of skies and stars above.
But cruel hands and darker schemes,
Stole their worlds and crushed their dreams.

The streets became their endless cage,
Where youth was sold and hearts aged.
Their voices muted, cries unheard,
Their pain dissolved in fleeting words.

Each smile they wear, a fragile mask,
Each day, survival’s daunting task.
Their innocence—a tale of yore,
Now lost behind a bolted door.

Yet deep within, a light remains,
A spark unquenched by countless pains.
A hope that one day, chains will fall,
And freedom answers every call.

O world, why close your blinded eyes?
Why hear not their muffled cries?
These are daughters, sisters too,
Human beings, just like you.

The weight they bear is not their own,
Yet judgment casts its heart of stone.
Compassion lingers out of sight,
While darkness feasts upon their plight.

Injustice cloaks them like a shroud,
But justice speaks, and speaks aloud.
Rise up, tear down the walls of shame,
Restore their dignity, their name.

They are not shadows, not mere wares,
But souls who seek the love that cares.
Hold their hands, and lift them high,
Let them touch the open sky.

One day the world will see them shine,
Their voices loud, their hearts divine.
And every tear, and every scar,
Will fade beneath their rising star.

                           ☆☆