She thought
I won’t read anymore
I only want to write about it
I won’t hear anymore
I only want to talk about it

The things she once knew
Were only in her dreams
Though a young boy spoke to her once
He said, “You are young, your beauty reigns, the equal of Kings!”
But she knew even Kings are scorned by those who are not chosen

Everything she knew and remembered was flat beneath her feet
She would not walk away but instead would always walk upon it

It stared back up at her
Like a mirror of her life
That was the way she remembered best
Like her dreams
The way the children would play
And though the boys threw rocks
She knew it was because they didn’t know how to talk to a girl
It made her smile now
Though it made her cry then

The smoke was lighter than air
And the sky could no longer speak of tomorrow
That is why she chose to look down at her feet
The war hadn’t reached inside her shoes yet
Her shoes looked lovely she thought
How long would they last?

She took them off and carefully laid them on the dirt
And she thought of them walking away
She bought them because of a certain boy
She didn’t know his name
He excited her
He read from the book like we was listening to his father
He spoke of their country as if it were his mother
But he was gone now
He spoke while she watched with others
The smoke followed his life
While the street kept his memory
Underneath her feet
Along with her childhood
And she wondered if the war would lie down beneath her feet
And show her what it did to that boy