Defiantly she pushes
a wisp of disobedient hair from her
eyes that collide with mine

I cry softly when
I discover
I do not need them.
She stares
She is angry
Somebody has abandoned her,
until now she has not existed.

I listen (what else can I do?)
as her soft lilting voice
dissolves into the deep cold chant,
and the 'little girls with lethal weapons'
become one
Ridiculous?
Yes
ridiculous sacrifice?
Yes
NO!

Spying on her secret world
I am ashamed
that even via satellite
I am an intruder.
I should be there with her-
She, who is
my sister-in-arms.

Just like mine, her H.S.C.
determines her life
and proudly
she steps forward to receive - a cyanide file.

Here in my universe
Faraway from my flesh
I will worry about my
graduation.