Please don’t show me another picture
of an anguished mother weeping for her child.
I already know what grief feels like, and how
most of us look when overwhelmed by tears,
so I’d rather you didn’t publicise her raw emotion
which you can’t feel and isn’t yours to share.
You really haven’t any right to splash
this image over the newspaper’s front page.
You can share the story by all means, but keep
the prying eyes of photojournalists at bay.
Just let this unhappy woman retain her dignity,
and live to recover from the pain she feels today.
Alwyn Marriage