Collateral Damage

The medics work hard to stop the bleeding
The girl's face is gray with pain
Beneath the bandages
That make a mummy of her

I hold her hand tightly
The thud of the rotor blades drown her moans
I look away

A car bomb shredded through the bazaar
Lashed and tore her tiny body
Her right leg a mangled horror
Her mother's head is missing

We set a perimeter
Secure the scene
Call for Medevac
"Someone's gotta go with the kid"
I raise my hand without thinking
Really I just want to sit down

She clings to my hand with ebbing strength
Her dark eyes glazed over
Her jaw slack
Tears streak her dirty face and mine
She passes out
I squeeze her little hand
I mutter half-remembered prayers
"Please God, don't let her die"

The Blackhawk lands at the FOB
The medics rush her to the surgery
"She'll lose that leg, for sure, but she'll pull through."
"She's lucky."

A little girl who hobbles on one leg
Awkward hops on crutches far too long
Orphaned and pitiful
She's only 8