Omar Bainto

A TRIBUTE TO THE YOUTH
(On Canada Day)

For the love of our dear country
I thought I’d do something worthy
To help celebrate this year’s Canada Day
I volunteered with the City of Calgary.

I helped with Calgary Search and Rescue’s “thing”
Of tagging the children in case they’d go missing
I had so much fun working with all of them
What I learned from these kids is worth a gem.

These children are our homeland’s treasure
They’re going to be our hopes for the future
Whatever they would decide to do someday
Would in one way or another be their noble way.

Would they strive to change our lives for the better?
To bring forth success to our society soon after
Would they help promote world peace and harmony?
Or they’d rather take up the profession of soldiery.

Patriotism isn’t usually served in a silver tray
That demonstrates love to one’s own country
Does one need to offer the ultimate sacrifice?
For our precious liberty, death be the price

To many, it is the most praiseworthy means
To show loyalty that makes venerable sense
Names written on stones for us to remember
Immortalized and honoured as heroes forever.

Would one be considered a shameless coward?
Whose idea of patriotism is a step backward?
Avoid fighting and let those who have preferred
To die for our freedom as they willingly offered

We may have differences of opinion on this sense
As I strongly support preparedness for our defence
I also believe that those who make a difference
On the lives of others are just as laudable as saints.

So raise these children well to give them high self esteem
Educate them, invest on them and most of all; love them
Help them reach their potentials with lots of room to grow
For the youth are our hopes for a better world of tomorrow!

©Copyright July 2008 by Omar Bainto

I hope that this poem will help inspire others as I myself was inspired while I was writing it. As a result, I was the recipient of the major awards on our graduation parade.Author’s Note: This poem was written while I was taking my Senior Leaders Course at CFB Cold Lake this summer. It took me six weeks working on it discreetly on my free time reminiscing about the experience that I have had with the children on Canada Day. Being a student of Leadership, I thought that the children are potential leaders of the future. They are the reflections of me when I was younger. I believe that I became of what I am now because of the way I was raised, the support and love that I received from the people that surrounds me. They all played a very important role in my upbringing. Though there are ups and downs in my life, the positive parts of it prevail most of the time. I therefore dedicate this poem to the youth and their parents and to remind our politicians around the world how important the children are in our societies who are most often neglected.