Broken glass swathes the cobblestone,
Ferny moss chokes the siding,
Dry rotted stairs shiver and shake,
Acid smolders the feeble chain.

Violent shouts ravage the skies,
Tears descend from the demoralized,
The fist of nature strikes its target,
The breath of its fury brawls with wrath.

The eyes of a mother are barely visible,
Her baby moans in ignorance,
The fraudulence of life wins the battle,
Lead and powder cloud the streets.

A voice can be heard just slightly,
His breath begins to fail.
Simply another victim falls,
Dejection joins each citizen.

Yet sitting in the worst of this -
Quietly but loudly.
Someone emerges silently,
A small, confident, girl.

Not bigger than the fearsome attacks,
Not faster than the copper bullets,
Not larger than the pressing poverty,
Not stronger than the disheveled homes.

But still the only one standing,
The only one loving…
The only one fighting…
The only one living…

…is she…