this black and white photograph
was taken on a winter day
in south philadelphia...
two of us standing in a small lot
i'm three - she's four
brother & sister
struggling even then to make sense of who we are
where we are

the real war that surrounds our births -
world war II - is over
yet in our small childlike way
we worry about this other conflict -
this other war that wages and rages
within the walls
of our modest home
in a project

there are no smiles on our puzzled faces
our eyes are sad and anxious and lost
as we look straight ahead at the camera...

we are holding hands
in the afternoon light

it's clear we're weary and
not eager to return
to another day
in the combat zone