The little girl in the basement
of a bombed out house,
whispers a lullaby
and asks God’s forgiveness
for hitting her smaller brother.
Voices, someone’s digging,
a shaft of light
and friendly hands lift her up.
She cries
and tells the man
that she didn’t mean to slap him so hard-
‘There, there, the man says, it wasn’t your fault.’
She asks: ’Where is mum, dad and my brother?’
The man doesn’t answer
but hands her over to a nurse
who gives her water to drink
and wraps her in a blanket.