A Deadly Famine...

A Deadly Famine: The Cost of War

A girl, no older than five,

remained unaffected by the heavy 

shelling of the buildings.

The girl used to scream in terror,

but now she’s slumped in a corner,

searching for shelter.

Her nails scrape down

the concrete walls

for those who said never

again to see again now and then.

The girl looks up at the sky

as if God himself would scoop her up,

but the light is a star 

upon which she couldn't wish.

She calls to her mother to feed her.

Her eyes sink, and her skin hangs

off her brittle bones.

An airstrike killed

her mother last September.

She knows what death looks like,

but she doesn’t understand

what it means never to return.

She had relied on aid 

until it was exhausted.

She died beneath the rubble,

eyes fixed on heaven.

By Andy Cooper

From: United States

X: AC0040