She Dances

Small girl of no more than 14 With light brown skin, Smooth as milk chocolate And mahogany hair that shines Dances in front a fire The flames that consume her home She's dressed in a ragged smock Nothing on her bare, small feet It rains heavily; the ground Is nothing but mud But, still she dances To some invisible beat Her family is gone Mother, grandmother, Her baby sister All dead, gone Consumed by the inferno Bright yellow, tall, powerful Her hips sway, light as air Arms and legs move gracefully She's a ballerina on the stage Of a life that presents Its toughest test to her And she confronts it by dancing Hands over her ears, Body still moving No one knows why she moves All is lost for her All is vanquished Yet...she dances And as she dances As the fire engulfs her home The soldiers pass her by Some sympathetic Others mock her ritual But no one offers help The soldiers leave her there Dancing to fire She never notices The dance will never stop, The fire will always burn And she sways, in fear, in hope