Small girl of no more than 14
With light brown skin,
Smooth as milk chocolate
And mahogany hair that shines
Dances in front a fire
The flames that consume her home


She's dressed in a ragged smock
Nothing on her bare, small feet
It rains heavily; the ground
Is nothing but mud
But, still she dances
To some invisible beat


Her family is gone
Mother, grandmother,
Her baby sister
All dead, gone
Consumed by the inferno
Bright yellow, tall, powerful


Her hips sway, light as air
Arms and legs move gracefully
She's a ballerina on the stage
Of a life that presents 
Its toughest test to her
And she confronts it by dancing


Hands over her ears,
Body still moving
No one knows why she moves
All is lost for her
All is vanquished
Yet...she dances


And as she dances
As the fire engulfs her home
The soldiers pass her by
Some sympathetic
Others mock her ritual
But no one offers help


The soldiers leave her there
Dancing to fire
She never notices
The dance will never stop,
The fire will always burn
And she sways, in fear, in hope