he looks at me
i don't know
what to say

eyes haunted
wanting a word
to be pressed
into his hand
the one that will give him hope
the one that will save him

cruelty
falls as a shadow
over his knees
his head
cowering shoulders
bruises
make a tattoo
rope
his captor

held by the man
with a gun
held to his skull
aching

i see his eyes
haunted
haunting me
held captured
in a photograph
black
and white
held captured
by time
and war
uncertainty

a word falls
before i can grab it
onto the dirt
heavy with the footsteps
of your oppressors
new
i wish
i could have saved you