Caroline

Caroline,
Twenty, a mother, provider
     Ravaged by AIDS,
Her daughter beside her.

Caroline,
Bones, skin, and teary eyes,
     Forgotten in silence,
Gifted with virus, stigmatized.

Caroline,
Hope came then, not now.
     So tired - but her child -
How can voiceless scream so loud?

Caroline,
Memory, seen in a younger face,
     Buried, rural ground.
She finally got to leave this place.
     Love for daughter her only sound,
Caroline.