the stars are eclipsed by the noxious fumes rising 
from the rubble of a missile-gutted          
civilian apartment building
containing the mangled body of a five-year-old 
still holding her doll in a death clutch 
while five thousand miles away, 
another five-year-old girl in kindergarten 
opens her lunch box to find 
her mom's note 
with a smiley face I love you