Marred Innocence

Spurned though never forgotten, those feline eyes, blessed
by the brushstrokes of Mother Nature, sculpted by the artillery
of man. Far too heavy for any child to bear, they reemerge
undeterred by the unspeakable. Palpable—
as those of my own child, I can almost feel them dangling
on the edge of time, longing to reach the safety net
that has forsaken them.

So much unharnessed poetry lies beneath the pain that foretold
the torment of millions —innocence marred by a cesspool
of violence, mercilessly carved by despotic swords.
Thirty six years have vanished since Afghan Girl
stole our hearts with her iconic prisms.
Today in turn we steal her hope.

And as I mourn the future of her frayed eyes
I wonder if one—or both— have perished
like scores of others counting amongst their kin
legions of decomposing limbs.
Why would a child untether herself from the comfort of her mother’s womb
only to descend into the lap of savagery?
A simple roll of the dice —or way of the world—
is all it takes to will a fetus into the turbulent culvert
of hatred, to be held evermore hostage.

Those forsaken eyes
drenched in the alchemy of desperate beauty, silenced
beneath the duplicitous threads of violet which hinted at this very moment
are but windows to the countless souls whose truths spill onto deaf ears.
The same ones pleading to be heard by God—or Satan—
for a mere chance to savor an ounce of life.
Perhaps today those very eyes pray for bottomless plots
in which to, at long last, savor an ounce of peace.

Alina de Albergaria ©2021

Photo: Steve McCurry, 1984
June, 1985 cover of National Geographic

“Afghan Girl,” Steve McCurry’s iconic photo which portrays the desperate beauty behind Sharbat Gula’s twelve-year-old eyes, is the inspiration behind “Marred Innocence.” Thirty six years is far too long for that image to live in my heart without giving something in return. May “Marred Innocence” make a dent in my debt to the Universe, while speaking the voice of justice.