Day 441

A child walks barefoot up a road,
surrounded on both sides by bombed-out
buildings, carrying two half-gallon
milk containers.  He is going
to get water for his family,
the ones remaining. He is eight
or nine, he wears no jacket,
only a thin shirt and shorts
though it’s late December.  Who
has sent him on this errand?
What kind of water will he find?
To whom has he said what could be
(any moment the last moment)
his final goodbye?