Day 515/Ceasefire Day 45

A child of four, Mira,
eating breakfast with her family
in her tent,
is shot in the back of the head
by a sniper. The family
moves quickly, gets her
to a hospital – miraculously
functioning.  The surgeon
evaluates her, prepares her
for surgery.  The child —
miraculously — survives.  She
survives! She’s four.  Six months
later she’s dancing around
the examining room, greeting
her doctors, laughing.  But the critical 
additional care 
she needs can’t be given
here; she’ll have to go
to another country.  And her mother —
who would want
to accompany her —
has been wounded since as well,
is missing a limb.  Who
will be permitted
to go with Mira? If she’s
even permitted to leave.
She’s four.  How
can we preserve her
laughter, her dancing, her words?