She stands at the doorway
-her hands on her hips
as she beckons a passerby
with a smile on her lips

Her job is a tough one
she toils night and morn
as hunger gnaws her belly
as her soul is broken and torn

Behind all those layers of makeup
is a girl all of sixteen
whose childhood lies buried in the rubble
whose innocence is lost in the scene

She pastes a false smile on her face
but a tear slips by in
for her baby lies burning with fever
as her heart cries out in pain

Can we give her back what she has lost
Will hope ever shine on her again
Can she become the little girl she used to be
Who loved to splash about in the rain

~ by supriya barsode