Sympathetic Portrait of a Child + 

The murderer’s little daughter + 

who is barely ten years old + 

jerks her shoulders + 

right and left + 

so as to catch a glimpse of me + 

without turning round. + 

Her skinny little arms + 

wrap themselves + 

this way then that + 

reversely about her body! + 

Nervously + 

she crushes her straw hat + 

about her eyes + 

and tilts her head + 

to deepen the shadow⁠— + 

smiling excitedly! + 

As best as she can + 

she hides herself + 

in the full sunlight + 

her cordy legs writhing + 

beneath the little flowered dress + 

that leaves them bare + 

from mid-thigh to ankle⁠— + 

Why has she chosen me + 

for the knife + 

that darts along her smile? + 