Poetry

Ameed Alhalbi/AFP

By

Stephen Byrne

Portrait of Someone’s Child

for Omran

The child

              face painted

              like some tribal warrior

the child

              slowly moves like a doll

the child

              barefoot with pale little legs

the child

              brushes the blood from his face

the child

              acts like a child

              wiping the blood on the ambulance seat

the child

              does not cry

the child

              does not scream

the child

              just stares

              in wonder

not amazement

not delight

not horror

              in wonder

              of what just happened

              of the whereabouts of his mother

              of the slight pain in his left temple

the child’s

              little nose

              little ears

              little closed mouth

the child

              blinks

the child

              wipes the dust from his eye

the child

              sees the blood on his hand

the child

              does not cry

              does not scream

              does not speak

the child

the child

the child

              just stares

              in wonder

Someone’s Daughter

i.m Jyoti Singh Pandey

Thirteen days later

the world knows of her

Nirbhaya, Amanat

& what is left but

fragments of someone’s child

torn like a broken leaf

Thirteen days later

of shadows & visions

of buses & bastards

of a rough sidewalk

& the chill of nakedness

Thirteen days later

of hands upon forehead

lips touching cheek

& fingers run through dark hair

the opening of brown eyes

the constant flashes of torment

Thirteen days later

she kissed the hands of her father

& closed her eyes for the last time

Nirbhaya, (“fearless one”) Amanat (treasure)

Stephen Byrne

Stephen Byrne is a chef and writer living in Galway Ireland. He has been published worldwide in places such as Rats Arse Review, Spontaneity, Skylight 47, Indian  Review, Warscapes, RædLeafPoetry-India, The Original Van Gogh’s Ear Anthology and many others. His work has also been translated into Russian for the Nasha Gazeta journal, Dublin edition. He is the food writer for This is Galway and also writes at his site The Ranting Beast.