Day 1,044

Who will take care of this child
now that his mother
cannot cross the border
for the surgery she needs?
Months of waiting. Permission
promised. Denied. Appealed.
Promised again and denied again.
Meanwhile the cancer
does not ask permission. Crosses
the border of this organ. That one.
Colonizes. Pursues. Consumes.
The child brings water and food
to his mother, but he cannot save her.
At night he hears her moaning
in pain she has tried to contain all day.
Who will care for him? Many
in other tents have offered. Meanwhile
they lie together, awake
in the dark, while the invaders
consider their moves.