image: Collection: “Sarajevo 20 Years After the Siege,” Alex Elena Photography

DEBRA:

Catherine, come up

from the back of the yard

it’s no longer safe outdoors.

Come up to my side

we’ll hide ourselves strong

behind the old oaken door. 

Brother is gone and mother

is gone and father is

we don’t know where. 

And while we’re not well

we don’t even need food;

we’ve become skin, bones

and aware. 

But if I’m with child,

I’ll starve it to death

or force my flight

down the stairs. 

What’s the point of it now?

Everyone’s gone,

let’s wait for the end right here. 

CATHERINE:

Debra come down

from the top of the stairs

the green door doesn’t lock

anymore. Yes, Momma is gone

and brother is gone but

Father might be found after all. 

And if you’re with child

I will help you walk down

I will help you all of the way.

Together we’ll start a

new family right,

not hating a child of hate. 

Debra come down,

we mustn’t stay here,

no home is safe anymore. 

Let’s hit the road running,

not sit and wait, dying.

Let’s do something other than pray. 

For you are still here and

I am still here–

And Debra that

Is something, I say. 

Laura Lee is a teacher, college instructor, published (poetry, fiction, and nonfiction) writer, adult literacy tutor; literacy in all its forms is her passion.
Laura’s inspiration:
“When I was teaching ELL, I taught with a woman who survived the Sarajevo Siege and was a refugee to the USA. Her stories haunted and still haunt me.”