Day 939

Dr. Abu Safiya

Remember the tender care
he gave your child,
the way he spoke to her
when she was brought
to his hospital:  the gentleness
of his hands, wrapping bandages
over the wound, the place
where the bone was severed,
place where now your daughter’s leg
ends.  Remember
how he held her head,
her hands.  Remember
the words he spoke
to you, the kindness in them.
Think of this now
as the doctor grows thinner,
as the cruelty of the guards
grows more intense, as rodents
and insects infest the prison food.
As the doctor is gradually
being killed…