'The moment/ the camera caught her'

The listless despondency                              in her eyes

Her comrade half turned                        dim eyes far into the future

The arm of support                           invisible

Fragile fingers resting                                    casually on frail shoulders

The linen shirt collar jostle                                                     for attention

Frayed and faded                                the black irises unfathomable

Clusters of brown curls                                           like unruly emotions

Frame                            an unknown nascent innocence

Bold lips silent                         taught                       only to obey commands

Gunfire and guerrilla warfare         cohabit     with teenage tantrums

Adolescent dreams turn fast into                                nightmares of Reality

© Sutapa Chaudhuri

*This poem is inspired by the photo of a 14-year-old child soldier who was photographed with the ©Farc in 2000.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28600850

A bilingual poet, translator and an academic, Sutapa Chaudhuri, PhD, teaches English at a college near Kolkata, India. She has two collections of poetry —Broken Rhapsodies (2011) and Touching Nadir (2014).

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