The Forgotten Child : poetry as a vehicle for exploration in children’s geographies

This article aims to investigate poetry as a vehicle for exploration in children's geographies, with an emphasis on how children in conflict zones experience war. Through The Forgotten Child, a poem that portrays a child's struggle in a war-torn environment, the paper highlights how creative writing can reveal the spatial, emotional, and societal impacts of conflict that are often overlooked in academic and policy discussions. The article draws on the socio-ecological model to show how children's lives are shaped by layers of power, from individual fears to global political systems. By framing children as more than just statistics, the poem sheds light on how war turns their lives into data points, erasing their personal experiences. It argues for the value of poetry as a method in children’s geographies, calling for a more ethical, reflective approach that considers not only children’s voices but also the silences and erasures they face in times of conflict.