In a world without role models
A waif fends for herself
Conspicuously alone
Elbowing for a toe hold
Paralyzed with fear
The fortunate dead buried
Under the foul-smelling rubble
'Her beauty is cursed',
Her grandmother would proudly say
Brutally ravaged
The girl's fantasies
Of love as celebration
A muted dream of ashes
Murmured and forgotten
Nervous and fretful
Lest the savages return
She looks for a lurking sniper
To put an end to the searing numbness
That travels from toes
Up to her entrails
To erase grandma's pride
A broken soul
Still nubile to tempt the hunters
A neglected can of fuel
Her scarred body on fire
Sang songs of love
In a block of pock-marked buildings
Happy to be undesirable
Safe at last.
