Wedged in a bed of snow
against a backdrop of bricks
the headstones stand in rows
like the teeth of an old man
with gingivitis.
Not the graves of soldiers
taken in battle
as first glimpse would suggest
but
fifteen hundred children
of Sarajevo
ripped from the future.
c. Kathryn Coughran
First published: 1994 in Family Matters (Kathryn Andersen)
Best Poem Of The Night: Penrith Sailing Club Readings 1998…
…Chosen by a scout from The Joan Sutherland Centre