Day 386

In the photograph the children look
like they’ve fallen asleep 
next to each other; as if the adults
are in another room, talking and laughing,
voices speaking over other voices, interrupting,
maybe a tv on, and they’ve all had dinner
and the children have played together
and watched a movie and the hour
has grown late and they all
got tired and fell asleep,
all of them still dressed in their jeans
and t-shirts, the girl with her long hair
fallen over her eyes, the littlest boy
crowded between two older ones,
and soon the adults will come
into the room and throw blankets
over the children and turn out
the lights.  And it will be quiet
again in the house and the moon
will come and shine from the window
and all will sleep
peacefully til morning…But this
is a photograph of children
who died in a bombing, whose blood
(now wiped from their faces)
spilled copiously onto the floor
of the shelter  (no
house, no other room)
where their parents (no
laughter, no voices, no
moon through a window)
also were murdered.