She strides into the clinic, smiling, and extends her hand to shake.
She wears a pretty ponytail, and holds a pretty notebook,
Disguising her fear.
The handsome man is at her side,
Her defender in battle.

She has faith in this place, the people, the work she hopes to find here.
She will never renounce the cause;
There is too much at stake.
She says she is doing pretty well, considering.

She shuffles into the clinic, and in her lap, her hands shake.
She wears a pretty hat to keep her head warm;
There is no disguising her frailty.
Her sorrowful mother is at her side,
Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

She has faith in a place beyond, the unseen, the rest she hopes to find there.
Burned and disfigured in pursuit of the cause;
She has suffered at its stake.
She says she is doing pretty well, considering.

Inspired by (yesterday’s!) WordPress Daily Prompt: Martyr