Epitaph for East Aleppo

How beautiful the light is
A luminosity like something never seen before
How it catches the leaf
As it spins and drops gentle as a kiss
I wonder if this is how you fall
Luminous and quiet
Softly spiralling
But you fall screaming
Blood spills from your mouth
Your bones splinter
And the baby is gone from your arms
The leaf spins and drops
How it catches the light
From your fading eyes

The home of writer Bronwen Griffiths