Grade 8 G.S. Lakie student recognized for poem

A G.S. Lakie Middle School student’s literary submission has been accepted into this year’s FOLD Kids Program.
The FOLD Foundation celebrates diverse authors and storytellers at festivals and events based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
Grade 8 student Zara Enayetullah’s poem, Peace, will be included in a FOLD program that includes short stories and poetry from young writers across Canada. The chosen submissions will also be distributed to schools and literary organizations in Brampton and throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
For more info about FOLD, visit the organization’s website here: thefoldcanada.org
Enayetullah’s poem can be read below:

Peace

I sit on the floor of a boat
A very ramshackle boat, held together with tape and a prayer
The rock of the boat lulls me to sleep
But sleep is a lucky thing
The people on this boat mainly pray,
Cry and rock
And perhaps throw up over the edge of the boat
My mother, holds me in her arms
She kisses me
My father has an arm around my brother
The boat rocks and tumbles
We have run from my homeland
Syria
Mama whispers to me stories of Syria
Before it was wartorn and corrupt
It sounds beautiful
It sounds like a home
A place where Mama and Daddy could have raised their family
And then war broke out
So Mama and Daddy chose to relocate their little family
I remember the long days as we trekked towards
Turkey
I remember I was always carried
I never had to walk
I remember my mother always kissed me
People are screaming
The waves are huge
My mom grips me tightly
My dad holds my mom, me and my brother  so tightly
I feel safe
Though the waves are high, higher than the boat
I feel my family's love radiate through me
The waves are higher than the boat
We get tossed off
There is so much darkness right now
An endless cycle of darkness and screaming
My dad holds my mom’s hand
I slip and fall into the water
My mama grabs at the water
She grabs me
I try to grab her hand
Her hand slips
She falls in
My father rescues me
I see my mother,
Slowly sinking
Her hair is like a halo around her head
In my heart,
I know I'll never see her again
She looks at peace
My father looks down with tears in his eyes
He paddles us to safety
He tells us:
We're going to build a new life
A safe life
Though she is gone
She'll never be fully gone
Because we'll always keep her in our hearts