Through the Darkness

 

I lay enveloped in the pitch darkness of my room

In those early hours I was assailed by personal concerns

I wrestled for answers and wished for sleep to return

The darkness exaggerated my dilemas as I prayed for more sleep

I turned from one side to the other loathing this nocturnal intrusion

I grew weary but sleep was not within my reach as the darkness became menacing

I dozed for a while under the veneer of sleep and dreamed a little

I was sitting on a wooden bench the sort found in parks

Coldness and desolation were my only companions

I sensed being in a place of appalling destruction

 

Then to my side I saw a girl's head, her body lying on the earth

A girl of eight years old in an overcoat with long dark brown hair

She was inert, her eyes were closed, she was dead

I woke up with a start, the memory of the girl's face still with me

Her presence swept aside my personal fears and concerns

I became aware of all that surrounded her death

A scene of devastation and the consequences of war

 I had been shown that my subjective harrowings were of nought

The time was now, to be objective and appreciate my good fortune

The girl's life had been brought violently to an end

And I was still alive