Day 1,105

for Maryam

Flames all around her.
The building
she’s lived in
consumed by fire.
The child — three
years old —
is screaming. Harrowing
screams. Her mother
near her, also
on fire. Maryam,
trapped in the flames,
watching her mother
burn. A rescuer
dives into the firestorm,
calls for blankets,
water. More screaming.
A tiny child, her whole
body on fire. Watching
her mother burn
to death. Charred.
No longer hearing
her mother’s voice.
Voice killed
by the flames.
Relentless sound
of fire taking everything
in its path. Maryam,
pulled from the flames
by the rescuer. Taken
to a hospital. For now,
surviving.