…And in the forest,
among the leaves,
nearly out of sight -
is the upturned hand
of a little girl
raped and killed
in some nameless fight -
left behind -
for no one but her God to find
As for me,
the question burning is my mind
is just whose enemy was she -
and having committed the atrocity,
does her murderer
feel more free?

©Christina Sharik
February 18, 2000