A NINE-YEAR-OLD VIOLATES THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS

I with my false proclamation
of surrender, white flag
doused in kerosene, lit match
clasped between fingers
in red cross behind my back,
child soldier in my heart who I
tortured and let torture me –

you an opposing army
in your civilian clothes.

By Emma-Louise Adams

Biography:

Emma-Louise Adams is a multiply disabled lesbian writer who divides their time between the Sheffield and Cambridge areas of the UK. They were briefly institutionalised as a child and have been searching for freedom ever since. They find it in public parks, literary magazines, and as much advocacy as they can handle.